Steve Carell Gives Brilliant Advice In The New Wired Magazine April 23, 2008

The Office’s Steve Carell plays Maxwell Smart in this summer’s big-screen redo of Get Smart. Since he’s an expert on smart now, Carell shares 10 simple ways that people can act brilliant in the new issue of Wired.

Here are my favorite three:

Engage in Reading-Type Behavior

If we were meant to read for enjoyment, would God have created television? Read as it was intended — for exercise. The more you read, the more you expand your — what’s the word I’m looking for? — your stockpile of words. You must have a stockpile of words that you can pass along to your children for their stockpile.

Know Things

It’s important to be well-rounded — not purely scientific and analytical. Explore the arts: poetry, music, decoupage (a visual art form I’ve been developing since the first grade). And remember, it’s always better to have a cursory knowledge of a lot of things than to actually know a lot about any one thing. This is called a liberal arts education.

Act “Human”

When I go to parties, people often look stunned at how smart I am. But nobody wants to talk about astrophysics at a dinner party. Hey, when I want to talk like that, I head to the lab! Instead, I talk about “human” things they enjoy and understand: midrange wines, movie trivia, and mundane subjects like family and emotional fulfillment. I like to end my conversations with a quote, usually something in French, like “c’est la vie,” which means “down the hatch!” But don’t overdo it: Nobody likes a show-off.

Read the rest of Mr. Smart’s brilliant advice @ Wired.