On p. 143, Walter states, "There ain't no causes - there ain't nothing but taking in this world, and he who takes the most is smartest - and it don't make a damn bit of difference how." Do you think that this is true? Why or why not?

I think that Walter brings up an interesting point because rather than saying the world is made up of takers and givers, he says that everyone is a taker and that whoever takes the most is the smartest. I agree that everyone in this world is a taker, because everyone takes something from this planet just by existing. However, I disagree that the person who takes the most is the smartest. I think that it is not the person who takes the most who is the smartest but the one who gives back the most when looking at the percentage they've created and given to the world in comparison to what they originally had. The people who have made the most money in this world have it because somewhere along the line, they gave the people something that they wanted that was worth more than what they originally had. Hence, they gave more than they took. Let's look at an old lady who donated a dollar to charity. She had worked her whole life to get a few dollars because she was paid so low that a dollar to her was worth a million to us. She gave all of it charity, and that charity declared her as the biggest donor not because she gave the most money but because she gave the biggest percentage of what she had. Another person at the charity donated billions, but he didn't get the title despite having given the most money because to him, a couple billion was nothing compared to how much money he had altogether. Therefore, I think that defining intelligence by whoever has the most is futile. Rather, I think it is the person gives the largest percentage to the world compared to what they originally had to begin with that is the most intelligent. This intelligence shows in the academic skills to be able to build up what they had into something better, the emotional maturity to be able to let go of everything you have and give it to the world even if you don't know if it will reap anything for you, and the social awareness to be able to create something that could benefit a lot of people out of something that at first only benefitted you.