Long time ago, I had a childhood friend who got a Colombo Plan scholarship to study metallurgy in Canada. He came back after his degree and became an administrative assistance (AA civil service); it was quite a prestigious job. I remember he was given a job and he had to visit professionals and other experts to write some research reviews on oil trading at the time. He told me he visited and talked to someone from the Indonesian embassy and he was impressed by the man - that he spoke "perfect" English. I do understand this friend of mine as he and I belong to the same "level" - not too "bright". I understand better after I converted to Islam.
There is a reason why in Islam (Quran and hadith) there is a great stress in "believing", distinguishing between a believer and a non-believer. When a man is non-believing, his heart is closed and sometimes it could even be crystallized as hard as stone. Such a person would then be stubborn, just would relish in disputes non-stop and would come to nothing. On the other hand, if a person is lucky enough to be able to open his heart and humble himself to the One God Almighty, his heart would be opened - insha Allah. In this manner he would realized things which he "forgot" in the past, before the opening of his heart and inner self.
For a Muslim, if he is sincere and has true faith, it is God who will make him more aware and thus smarter. I could later understand why the Indonesian whom my friend met could speak "perfect" English - Allah made him bright.
Best regards,
Chan Rasjid,
"Einstein's E=mc2 Invalid"
http://www.emc2fails.com