Buuräschlau - or farmer smarts

Over the last few decades, people have come to realize that there is more than one kind of intelligence among us. There is the "intelligence" measured by an IQ test. Then there is emotional intelligence, or EQ. In my work as a farmer and winemaker, I have come to appreciate a third kind: Buuräschlau, or farmer-smart, a shrewdness that is hard to translate.

It used to be, at least in the generations after the Industrial Revolution, that a well-off farmer with three sons would send the "smartest" to university to study medicine or law. The second smartest would be apprenticed to a local accountant or official. The "dumbest" would be left with the farm. The irony is that the farm demanded an intelligence neither of his brothers had been tested for.

It is an intelligence that cannot be measured on either the IQ or EQ scale. It has to do with how you handle yourself in nature and among people. How to get the best price for the horse you are selling. How to make sure the ewe that clears every fence ends up with a buyer far away. How to know exactly when the soil on a steep slope is dry enough to drive a tractor up without getting stuck.

When I started my wine adventure, this was an intelligence where I found myself lacking. With focus I have developed it a little, but you always pay tuition along the way, through your mistakes or by ending up on the wrong side of a bad bargain.

It is real-world, grounded intelligence. Classical IQ is built on a tower of learned knowledge and theories. Buuräschlau mostly ignores the theories and takes its inputs straight from the world: sight, sound, smell, and the feeling in your body. It feels a bit like ceasing to be a robot and becoming human again.

Try it. Next time you face a decision, step outside first. Look, listen, smell, and notice what your body says before you consult any spreadsheet.