9 ms·

This is an interesting theory. But I tend to be of the school that thinks that there are two kinds of smart people: people that think they are smart and aren't,

This is an interesting theory. But I tend to be of the school that thinks that there are two kinds of smart people: people that think they are smart and aren't, and people who are smart (but tend to not think so). The former are usually a result of the Dunning–Kruger effect. In my experience these people think that being smart (competent) makes them special and gives them a kind of power. Thus they don't want to diminish their own power by yielding some of it to other people. The funny thing is that they usually don't actually know anything anyways. The later are usually a result of what I like to think of as the Socrates effect "I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing." They believe that what they know isn't worth much because they realize that what they know is a single drop in the ocean of knowledge. They tend not to want to share because they might be embarrassed by the pittance of their knowledge -- even if it's worth quite a bit. I've found ultimately that sharers of knowledge have overcome their own egos and have dealt with the fear that drives both motivations. In either case they usually expect some kind of reciprocity and openness (but it's not required).

weaksauce 17y ago
The second kind of reasoning is inline with PG's statement about hackers: I've found that people who are great at something are not so much convinced of their own greatness as mystified at why everyone else seems so incompetent. From: Great Hackers, http://www.paulgraham.com/gh.html http://www.paulgraham.com/gh.html
- notauser 17y ago
  'If I have seen further than others, it's because I am surrounded by dwarfs.' -- attributed to Murray Gell-Mann (I generally prefer Newton's version, and I'll aspire to be so humble until my achievements better his.)
  - btilly 17y ago
    Did you know that Newton's version was written to a dwarf (Robert Hooke) who had accused Newton of taking his ideas? It is ironic that this pointed insult has become seen as a sign of his intellectual generosity.
    - tokenadult 17y ago
      Interesting. That prompted me to look at the online references http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hooke http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hooke http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton#Fame http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton#Fame and learn about the personality disputes among scientists of that era.
Raphael_Amiard 17y ago
>But I tend to be of the school that thinks that there are two kinds of smart people: people that think they are smart and aren't, and people who are smart I think that's a very strange school of reasonning, and it appears to be very common too. For me it doesn't reflect in real world at all. Of course you can come across some people who think they are smart and are not, but there is also plenty of people (and i tend to consider myself that way) that know they're smart, but also know that some people are smarter, and that they shouldn't infer they're the smartest people in their entourage, because that's detrimental to them. Plenty of the people i see and appreciate around me are like that, and most people who are really smart know they are.i really think this way of reasonning around the Socrates mantra is a false dichotomy. However, i think you have a point, but i'm not sure smart people don't share because they don't know they're smart, but much more because they realize the amount of contributions around them that are way more clever and usefull than what they could do, and are consequently affraid to contribute their own piece.

weaksauce 17y ago

The second kind of reasoning is inline with PG's statement about hackers: I've found that people who are great at something are not so much convinced of their own greatness as mystified at why everyone else seems so incompetent. From: Great Hackers, http://www.paulgraham.com/gh.html http://www.paulgraham.com/gh.html

notauser 17y ago
'If I have seen further than others, it's because I am surrounded by dwarfs.' -- attributed to Murray Gell-Mann (I generally prefer Newton's version, and I'll aspire to be so humble until my achievements better his.)
- btilly 17y ago
  Did you know that Newton's version was written to a dwarf (Robert Hooke) who had accused Newton of taking his ideas? It is ironic that this pointed insult has become seen as a sign of his intellectual generosity.
  - tokenadult 17y ago
    Interesting. That prompted me to look at the online references http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hooke http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hooke http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton#Fame http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton#Fame and learn about the personality disputes among scientists of that era.

Raphael_Amiard 17y ago

>But I tend to be of the school that thinks that there are two kinds of smart people: people that think they are smart and aren't, and people who are smart I think that's a very strange school of reasonning, and it appears to be very common too. For me it doesn't reflect in real world at all. Of course you can come across some people who think they are smart and are not, but there is also plenty of people (and i tend to consider myself that way) that know they're smart, but also know that some people are smarter, and that they shouldn't infer they're the smartest people in their entourage, because that's detrimental to them. Plenty of the people i see and appreciate around me are like that, and most people who are really smart know they are.i really think this way of reasonning around the Socrates mantra is a false dichotomy. However, i think you have a point, but i'm not sure smart people don't share because they don't know they're smart, but much more because they realize the amount of contributions around them that are way more clever and usefull than what they could do, and are consequently affraid to contribute their own piece.