Now are you asking which is smarter: the acting oboe or the fifth-grade band member? Or are you asking whether I'm smarter than a fifth-grader, an oboe, or some amalgamation of those things?

Between just the oboe or the fifth-grade kid... well, he or she would have to be some damn oboe virtuoso to beat the compelling performance of a musical instrument in the role of a fifth-grader in the school play.

I think I'm smarter than the average fifth-grader on a good day. Depending on how we're defining 'smart,' I'm going to wager a guess that I'm smarter than the oboe. I doubt I'm smarter than either the oboe-playing kid or the kid-playing oboe.