I've always thought "being the dumbest person in the room" was a bit of overstatement to the truth. It's probably more accurate to say you don't want to be the

I've always thought "being the dumbest person in the room" was a bit of overstatement to the truth. It's probably more accurate to say you don't want to be the smartest person. Not so much because you avoid having a target on your back if something fails and a scapegoat is needed, but more because you not only have the ability to teach those that know less than you, consequently reinforcing things in your head and giving yourself a better understanding, but also having people around that you can learn from. I can say being the smartest person in the room gets really old fast because you always feel like you have your hands tied behind your back and as much as X may be a better solution to a problem you have to fall back to something the entire team can understand. The general environment would probably make a difference too. If you in an environment with people that enjoy learning and sharing the knowledge they gain being the dumbest person in the room probably isn't as bad. I can't say I've met a work environment that is like that, though.