- We've all seen this one before...We get it often enough that it begs for a more elaborate definition...
Newbie Question... What does WIS stand for? (nt) -
WIS, W.I.S. or Watch Idiot Savant, Defined: -
- Basically it means Watch Idiot Savant.
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- Mirriam-Webster's Dictionary defines ‘Idiot Savant’ as:
- One entry found for idiot savant.
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Main Entry: idiot sa·vant
Pronunciation:
'E-"dyO-sä-'vän, or same as IDIOT and savant for respective singular and plural forms
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural idiots savants /-"dyO-sä-'vän(z)/; or idiot savants /-'vän(z)/
Etymology: French, literally, learned idiot
Date: 1927
1 : a mentally defective person who exhibits exceptional skill or brilliance in some limited field
2 : a person who is highly knowledgeable about one subject but knows little about anything else
- So a Watch Idiot Savant basically is someone who is exceptionally skilled, brilliant or knowledgeable about Watches but is particularly worthless in most if not all other topics. If you remember back to the movie “Rain Man” starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman played Raymond Babbitt an Idiot Savant who can count cards at a BlackJack table, tell you the weather on any day for the past forty years, quote accident rates for all forms of transportation methods, knows the entire phone book past the D's anyway, and is ‘an excellent driver’. Hoffman even won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his portrayal... So a Watch Idiot Savant is essentially the same thing except about watches.
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- Now there are subclasses of WIS's as well. Since my watch collecting focus is Chronographs, one could apply the CIS or Chronograph Idiot Savant label to me, etc.
- Hope this helps...
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- -- Chuck
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