4 ms·

Has anyone considered the flipside to this? Maybe a lot of unhappy people just assume they're "smart" instead of depressed or other mental illness, or are just

Has anyone considered the flipside to this? Maybe a lot of unhappy people just assume they're "smart" instead of depressed or other mental illness, or are just asocial personality types. I've met more than a few mediocre people who have this attitude and engage in talk about "sheeple" and such, but they're not remotely exceptional intellectually. In fact, most of them are fairly average or perhaps do slightly better than average in one small area in their life and play that up as justification for their greatness. I think its easy for the depressed or people who are just misanthropes to hide behind a "the world will never understand my genius" attitudes we see portrayed in the media. They see themselves as a John Nash or a misunderstood artist, when they're just, well, ordinary. This isn't a hypothetical in my world. When we do hiring its hard to filter out the asocial smart guy from the asocial bullshitter for technical jobs, especially for entry-level. Shockingly, I find the asocial bullshitter personality is mostly unaware at how terrible he is for the job he's applying for. Maybe its Dunning-Kruger or just old fashioned arrogance, but it can be hard to spot. We have a bad hire like this and its incredible how much damage he has done to the department and how he's unwilling to accept that he's, at best, below average. Instead he engages in this "tech master" personality with non-technical staff that is bizarre to witness, especially when you listen in and hear that 50% of what he's saying is just completely and obviously wrong.

pavel_lishin 11y ago
> Maybe a lot of unhappy people just assume they're "smart" instead of depressed/mental illness, or are just asocial personality types. I've met more than a few mediocre people who have this attitude and engage in talk about "sheeple" and such, but they're not remotely exceptional intellectually So the people showcased on /r/iamverysmart?
alexashka 11y ago
I think you've described 'delusional' perfectly. It is indeed a massive epidemic, as far as I can tell. A lot of people are in on the game and perpetuating it however - so what can one expect?
- gnaritas 11y ago
  More than 80% of people still pray to sky gods, delusional is the normal state of most human beings.
  - drzaiusapelord 11y ago
    I don't care if you pray to a pet turtle. If you're competent and easy to work with, you're okay in my book. Oh, the guy in my earlier posting? Strict atheist. I don't think religiosity has any bearing on intelligence.
    - gnaritas 11y ago
      How competent can you really be if you're delusional? > I don't think religiosity has any bearing on intelligence. I think it has every bearing on intelligence; they are highly correlated[1] and the science backs this up. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_intelligence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_intelligence
PakG1 11y ago
This isn't a hypothetical in my world. When we do hiring its hard to filter out the asocial smart guy from the asocial bullshitter for technical jobs, especially for entry-level. Shockingly, I find the asocial bullshitter personality is mostly unaware at how terrible he is for the job he's applying for. Maybe its Dunning-Kruger or just old fashioned arrogance, but it can be hard to spot. We have a bad hire like this and its incredible how much damage he has done to the department and how he's unwilling to accept that he's, at best, below average. Instead he engages in this "tech master" personality with non-technical staff that is bizarre to witness, especially when you listen in and hear that 50% of what he's saying is just completely and obviously wrong. It does not occur only with technical people, nor only with employees. I have met many people who simply feel that the world is out to get them and are consequently always on the defensive. They attack because if they don't, they feel like they will be attacked. And then it happens according to their perception, even if it's only in their minds. It ruins relationships in general, even marriages. I emphasize that it's important to note it's not just technical people or employees. Imagine trying to serve a client who gets everything wrong, and when you try to get to the bottom of their problem or even just reproduce it, they get angry that you're not doing what you pay them to do. But they're not willing to consider the expertise they're paying you to provide. I've had a bunch of experiences where I can't even believe a social interaction actually happened because it's so illogical. And it is not a surprise when I notice that those people have poor relationships with a number of their colleagues. I just told a kid today (I coach middle school basketball) that one of the biggest differences between mature and successful people and immature and unsuccessful people is whether the person is able and willing to consider they could be wrong about all the thoughts they have about others. He was a mirror image of those grown-ups who are always crying foul because the world hates them. He didn't care to consider how what I had to say applied to him too. I don't know what to do when I run across these types of people. I have failed many times to communicate with them. So now I just try to get through the issue to solve their problem, even if it means some sleight of hand sometimes to make them feel like I agree with what they're saying. You can't treat clients the way you treat employees. edit: alexashka nailed it. Delusional is the word. I don't know how to deal with it.
dave2000 11y ago
Everyone thinks they're smart. It's like how comedians can make fun of ugly people, because nobody identifies with being ugly.
- slededit 11y ago
  A lot of people are self conscious about their looks. Comedians making fun of it is on the same level as high school bullying. There will always be people who laugh.
  - dave2000 11y ago
    I disagree. I've never bullied anyone in my life and laughing at jokes that involve the use of the word ugly/lazy/stupid in no way justifies or excuses bullying. It's just about having a broad sense of humour.
  - unprepare 11y ago
    no, singling out an audience member and calling them ugly is like high school bullying. A comedian telling a story about a made up person and calling that made up person ugly is absolutely nothing like bullying.

pavel_lishin 11y ago

> Maybe a lot of unhappy people just assume they're "smart" instead of depressed/mental illness, or are just asocial personality types. I've met more than a few mediocre people who have this attitude and engage in talk about "sheeple" and such, but they're not remotely exceptional intellectually So the people showcased on /r/iamverysmart?

alexashka 11y ago

I think you've described 'delusional' perfectly. It is indeed a massive epidemic, as far as I can tell. A lot of people are in on the game and perpetuating it however - so what can one expect?

gnaritas 11y ago
More than 80% of people still pray to sky gods, delusional is the normal state of most human beings.
- drzaiusapelord 11y ago
  I don't care if you pray to a pet turtle. If you're competent and easy to work with, you're okay in my book. Oh, the guy in my earlier posting? Strict atheist. I don't think religiosity has any bearing on intelligence.
  - gnaritas 11y ago
    How competent can you really be if you're delusional? > I don't think religiosity has any bearing on intelligence. I think it has every bearing on intelligence; they are highly correlated[1] and the science backs this up. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_intelligence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_intelligence

PakG1 11y ago

This isn't a hypothetical in my world. When we do hiring its hard to filter out the asocial smart guy from the asocial bullshitter for technical jobs, especially for entry-level. Shockingly, I find the asocial bullshitter personality is mostly unaware at how terrible he is for the job he's applying for. Maybe its Dunning-Kruger or just old fashioned arrogance, but it can be hard to spot. We have a bad hire like this and its incredible how much damage he has done to the department and how he's unwilling to accept that he's, at best, below average. Instead he engages in this "tech master" personality with non-technical staff that is bizarre to witness, especially when you listen in and hear that 50% of what he's saying is just completely and obviously wrong. It does not occur only with technical people, nor only with employees. I have met many people who simply feel that the world is out to get them and are consequently always on the defensive. They attack because if they don't, they feel like they will be attacked. And then it happens according to their perception, even if it's only in their minds. It ruins relationships in general, even marriages. I emphasize that it's important to note it's not just technical people or employees. Imagine trying to serve a client who gets everything wrong, and when you try to get to the bottom of their problem or even just reproduce it, they get angry that you're not doing what you pay them to do. But they're not willing to consider the expertise they're paying you to provide. I've had a bunch of experiences where I can't even believe a social interaction actually happened because it's so illogical. And it is not a surprise when I notice that those people have poor relationships with a number of their colleagues. I just told a kid today (I coach middle school basketball) that one of the biggest differences between mature and successful people and immature and unsuccessful people is whether the person is able and willing to consider they could be wrong about all the thoughts they have about others. He was a mirror image of those grown-ups who are always crying foul because the world hates them. He didn't care to consider how what I had to say applied to him too. I don't know what to do when I run across these types of people. I have failed many times to communicate with them. So now I just try to get through the issue to solve their problem, even if it means some sleight of hand sometimes to make them feel like I agree with what they're saying. You can't treat clients the way you treat employees. edit: alexashka nailed it. Delusional is the word. I don't know how to deal with it.

dave2000 11y ago

Everyone thinks they're smart. It's like how comedians can make fun of ugly people, because nobody identifies with being ugly.

slededit 11y ago
A lot of people are self conscious about their looks. Comedians making fun of it is on the same level as high school bullying. There will always be people who laugh.
- dave2000 11y ago
  I disagree. I've never bullied anyone in my life and laughing at jokes that involve the use of the word ugly/lazy/stupid in no way justifies or excuses bullying. It's just about having a broad sense of humour.
- unprepare 11y ago
  no, singling out an audience member and calling them ugly is like high school bullying. A comedian telling a story about a made up person and calling that made up person ugly is absolutely nothing like bullying.