What's a sign that someone is not as smart as they think they are?

[NurseJackie]

I enjoyed reading the response to this question (excerpt below) ... it reminds me of more than one politician who loses a context and claims "rigged" and "unfair". (Trump being the most obvious example, of course.)


https://www.quora.com/Whats-a-sign-that-someone-is-not-as-smart-as-they-think-they-are

What's a sign that someone is not as smart as they think they are?

Originally Answered: What are some signs you're not as smart as you think?

A reliable way to see whether or not someone is not as smart as they think they are is to observe their reaction and how they behave when things don’t work out for them or when the situation doesn’t go their way.

Those who think that they are smarter/better/more talented, etc. than they really are will constantly complain about how they have bad luck, how the failure is others’ fault, unfairness in the system etc. Those who overestimate themselves tend to try and justify the failure and about how it wasn’t their fault. These people avoid taking responsibility for themselves by making excuses.

Those who are truly smart, on the other hand, are also humble enough to see their own shortcomings and to use each failure as a learning opportunity, and try to use that failure to find avenues for improvement. They are also more likely to succeed because they spend more time working and trying to figure stuff out rather than whining and complaining.

[ck4829]

1. Calling things they don't personally like "socialism", "Marxism", or "critical race theory"

[yonder]

3. I'd add: "radical, leftist" nom du jour.

[LastDemocratInSC]

2. Wearing orange makeup on his face.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

4. "As a member of MENSA"... NT

[kairos12]

5. I once knew a person who, anytime I brought up a book I was reading, immediately

said he had read it. So, once I made up a plausible book title and said I was reading it.

You guess it, he had read said book.

[NurseJackie]

7. That's hysterical!

Good for you! Did you let him know that you'd caught him? Did you ask him what he liked about it?

I imagine it would be very satisfying to put a braggart on-the-spot like that.

[Rebl2]

17. Did you

call him on it?

[Sympthsical]

6. Getting all their news and information from cable and/or social media

That's not being informed. That's being fed. But they're not bright enough to realize it. Then they think they know lots of things. Always dangerous.

Always a sign.

[NurseJackie]

8. There IS a place for people like Rachel Maddow...

... she includes a civics lesson or history lesson at the beginning of each story (just to bring people up to speed... the ones who need it).

But even though I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer... I found those lessons to be tedious (for me) and uninteresting (but others definitely need and enjoy it).

Other than that, I'd probably enjoy her commentary and editorial takes on things.

Still... I prefer READING my news.

[Sympthsical]

12. She's an exception though

I'm not saying it's all bad. I'm just saying, it's mostly bad. I've had the CNN homepage open about a week. Was looking for updates about Surfside.

. . .

Just wow. I am dumber for having combed through it nearly everyday this week.

And social media, well, that sort of speaks for itself. How many times are you on a site like FB or Reddit or Twitter or even here. You read a headline, then read the article. Then you get to the comments. It's clear 85% of the people didn't make it past the headline. Maybe halfway through a paragraph or two at best.

Then realize the stories being selected, posted, and upvoted are all curated to reflect a very narrow band of ideology, thinking, or political loyalty.

Now multiply that by the entire internet.

It bothers me daily.

[Xoan]

9. ...

[Mr.Bill]

10. How about when they tell you constantly how smart they are.

I had a boss once who you could not have a conversation with without her telling you she had an MBA. Trust me, she was nothing special in the intelligence area. Whatever success she was having in her career was ralated to the fact she was willing to travel a lot and work 60-80 hours a week.

[Patterson]

11. I accused my friend of getting his news from Fox.

He said, "Oh, I don't watch Fox anymore. I get all my news on Facebook."

[UTUSN]

13. As seen on internet boards? - picking high flown Handles, narcissism, self-promotion,

claiming expertise above all others, adopting faux "genteel" or archaic forms of address, patronizing/condescending, cultivating a sycophantic fan base, claiming to be the incarnation of purity, ...

Oh, got carried away...

[czarjak]

14. "I've got like a really good brain." "I'm smarter than the Generals", will live in infamy.

[liberaltrucker]

15. They're Republicans

[NurseJackie]

16. Writing for Politico?

[Pepsidog]

18. Speaking of signs, I was in Cape May, NJ last weekend on a $700,000 Trumper

brother-in-law just bought. 2 years prior we travelled the same water route around Cale May, the docks and I was disgusted to see tons of Trump 2020 flags on many, many boats. Last weekend I saw 2 Trump flags and 1 Trump Won flag. Up to this point we had not discussed TFG but I had to mention it seemed like Cape May and Wildwood has turned their back on the ex-traitor. I mentioned that I figured those Trump 2020 flags were now used as rags.

[NurseJackie]

19. I see those too... in rural areas. I recently had to attend a funeral in Georgia...

... and we drove through rural VA, NC, SC, GA. So many Trump flags and Confederate Battle Flags... EVERYWHERE. It was very disturbing.

[George II]

21. I believe that's the area of New Jersey that elected Jeff Van Drew as a Democrat and then republican

[Pepsidog]

25. It is the traitor Van Drew's district. It was previously held by one of the last reasonable Rs

in Congress. Nothing worse than a traitor who gets elected and promptly switches party affiliation.

[Hortensis]

20. He hangs around political forums complaining that nothing's being done?

Just came on and got hit with that brain-dead tomato again, for the Nth ti the Nth time. Come to think of it, that's another big sign. Off to a cooking forum.

[liberal_mama]

22. Not being able to read between the lines or having blind faith

or saying stupid things that don't make sense.

[struggle4progress]

23. "I know more about everything than anybody" is a tip-off

[overleft]

24. They wear amaga hat and votie repugnican.

[MiHale]

26. This post is an example of why I love this place...

Thank you!

[betsuni]

27. Their opinions are based on things that are wrong but self-righteously think they're always right.

Anyone with a different opinion is never listened to: they only disagree because of nefarious intentions, bad character, are terrified of the self-righteous hero who is always right -- they will stop at nothing to silence and defeat him (lots and lots of enemies throwing the kitchen sink and plotting behind closed doors). All very dramatic. Righteousness and emotion beats thinking.

[panader0]

28. I am reminded of DFW's sig line:

"Believe those who seek the truth, doubt those who find it." - Andre Gide
People who think they know it all are never as smart as they think they are.