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"It astounds me how many people will just make shit … " I am not astonished at all. In a professional environment your social status is higher, if you just tal

"It astounds me how many people will just make shit … " I am not astonished at all. In a professional environment your social status is higher, if you just talk, independent of your status of knowledge. There is always plenty of time later to correct for mistakes. (You know these guys, who magically have a different recollection of what they said yesterday) You certainly remain on top of discussions. Just think about the bad impression it makes in a meeting, if you repeatedly say: I don't know.

nkozyra 12y ago
Is this even necessarily a bad thing? Aside from the cover-your-ass aspect of it, I find this tends to spark healthy debate, even if someone's ego gets bruised in the mean time. The time it's bad is when nobody knows and just goes along with the blowhard. I've worked really hard in the past few years to say "I don't know" even when I'm supposed to project expertise. I haven't encountered any real resistance to it, though doing the opposite does inspire confidence, particularly when you're trying to sell a product or service.
- deleted 12y ago
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- Florin_Andrei 12y ago
  > The time it's bad is when nobody knows and just goes along with the blowhard. If I had a penny for every time I've seen that, I'd have a pretty big pile of coins.
  - marincounty 12y ago
    I have found that 95% of the people will side with the person who has the most control of a situation. Many times that person is the Blowhard, but too many times that person or entity is the boss,wealthy parent, or teacher. When I was in school, I was surprised how few students would correct the teacher. I understood they were concerned about grades, but there's a point where I literally wanted to strangle a teacher, or boss. I came close, and my grades suffered. As to bosses, I would quit, or hurt them "the old faschioned way". Right now, my biggest gripe with people who "just go along with" is our current treatment of the Homeless. I don't understand how people can debate on what to do, or turn a blind eye when cops try to fix the problem with the "fix the crack in the window" theory.

nkozyra 12y ago

Is this even necessarily a bad thing? Aside from the cover-your-ass aspect of it, I find this tends to spark healthy debate, even if someone's ego gets bruised in the mean time. The time it's bad is when nobody knows and just goes along with the blowhard. I've worked really hard in the past few years to say "I don't know" even when I'm supposed to project expertise. I haven't encountered any real resistance to it, though doing the opposite does inspire confidence, particularly when you're trying to sell a product or service.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
Florin_Andrei 12y ago
> The time it's bad is when nobody knows and just goes along with the blowhard. If I had a penny for every time I've seen that, I'd have a pretty big pile of coins.
- marincounty 12y ago
  I have found that 95% of the people will side with the person who has the most control of a situation. Many times that person is the Blowhard, but too many times that person or entity is the boss,wealthy parent, or teacher. When I was in school, I was surprised how few students would correct the teacher. I understood they were concerned about grades, but there's a point where I literally wanted to strangle a teacher, or boss. I came close, and my grades suffered. As to bosses, I would quit, or hurt them "the old faschioned way". Right now, my biggest gripe with people who "just go along with" is our current treatment of the Homeless. I don't understand how people can debate on what to do, or turn a blind eye when cops try to fix the problem with the "fix the crack in the window" theory.