[CT] Clark Fries, Trent

[Dan Moran]

> > In a lot of ways -- but not all of them -- being reminded here about
> > Clark is bringing Daniel Keys Moran's Trent Castanaveras, a/k/a
Trent
> > the Uncatchable, to mind.  Trent seems more than a bit like Clark
> > v. 2.0 or 3.0, perhaps, with the Code Against Killing upgrade among
> > others.  Trent too would have cheerfully agreed to smuggle the
> > nuclear bomb on board then disarmed it and kept it around for a
> > special occasion.
> >
> > I wonder if Clark would have appreciated mid-20th century Warner
> > Bros. cartoon shorts?
> 
> Any comment, Dan, anyone?

Here's what I remember about Clark, with the disclaimer that it's been
years since I've read the book. The kid's 12 or thereabouts with an IQ
of 160 -- and I remember his IQ because it's mine. I've had 4 IQ tests
administered to me over the years; two I aced and on the other two I
missed 3 questions. So my IQ is (or was, when I was much younger)
160-or-upwards ... Clark's IQ, according to that book.

I assure you, when I was 12, I couldn't do the sorts of things Clark
could do, and wasn't nearly as self-aware as Clark is portrayed as
being.

I'm skeptical about IQ in general -- partly because I do extremely well
on those tests and I know how bonehead stupid I'm capable of being. I
don't know how smart Trent is ... but smarter than me. Well upwards of
160, anyway.

IQ is a dreadful tool for measuring anything useful, anyway. It's like
horsepower on an engine -- my wife and I have a code when we're
discussing stupid-smart people: "flat tires," one of us will say. Big
engine, flat tires, car isn't moving.

Are Clark and Trent related? The V2, V3 comment is probably fair at one
level; I sure read all my Heinlein when I was a kid. I lifted
("invented") Trent from a lot of sources -- Fletch and Jim diGriz would
be on the list well before Clark, though.

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