Wrong kind of smart? - Page 4

On January 12 2012 09:53 Vansetsu wrote:
Well, I took the time to read the blog, so I suppose I can attempt to give some advice. However, usually anytime I respond to these kinds of blogs sincerely, it usually just ends up with me just redirecting someone to simpler forms of logic, so please don't take any of this post as condecending.

So, basically in short, you are a fluent and articulate person, and the people around you in said enviroment either aren't or choose not to be as so.

From there, you have to decide what your goals are, what is interfereing with said goals, and if there is a compromise.

First of all, what is your immeadiate goal?

- Is it to learn something in the class? If so, does that require your personal articulated insight? You have already stated your unwillingness to apporach a conversation in a different manner, and also that you like to contest ideas to better understand them, rather than to simply try and be satisfied with the information that is given.

Compromise: What, Why, and Worth.

- There is no right or wrong here, but you took this class, so you should decide if it's content is still valuable to you if you cannot reach a compromise with your approach to what is being learned and your approach to class contribution. If you can reach a compromise, then how? Well, you can limit yourself to words of laymans context, only going deeper if the conversation requires. If you seek the approval of your peers and teacher, that requires a much different type of compromise, one where you will ironically compromise yourself to conform to a milder conversation tone. Regardless, i find in one vs group scenarios, the party with the olive branch is usually the one, and you have to decide if compromising any part of your approach/self is worth anything you may want to get from the class.

So, again in short, are you interested in the content of this class, social and/or educational or neither. If so, are you willing to compromise? If not, was there a problem to begin with?

Hope any of that helps.

On January 12 2012 09:58 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:
Your teacher seems like a bitch for not being supportive at all.

As far as your rhetoric goes: there's nothing inherently wrong with using big words... just don't become a teacher.



Any blog post with Billy Joel is fantastic

On January 12 2012 10:02 Hypertension wrote:
If the teacher asked you to stop talking, I wouldn't guarentee that she will treat you fairly when it's time to get a grade. So if you can switch to a new class or teacher I would consider it.

As far as talking, maybe you go on for too long rather than using too many big words. Try just saying 10-20 words to capture your disagreement, then letting other people talk, then chiming in again after 5-10 other people have talked, again with only a 10-20 word point. The sad fact is that most people don't listen to what other people are saying, they are just waiting for thier turn to talk. If you take this away from them, they will resent you.

Listening > talking in 90% of situations. If you don't say much and what you say is right, people will think you are intelligent. Think about politicians, they all use sound bites to convice other people how great/right they are.

On January 12 2012 10:06 RedJustice wrote:
A river of words washes away the meaning.

Look at your description of the problem: fear of being misunderstood, intimidating, or boring. Your current solution is to talk yourself blue in the face with jargon, explanatory clauses, and side notes.

As far as practical advice goes, you need to practice; especially if you have a lisp and talk quickly. Talk to yourself in the mirror, and make an effort to speak clearly. Pick anything-- a paper your just read or a topic you're interested in, and try to explain it to an imaginary person in a minute or less. You will feel dumb talking to a mirror, but it makes you more conscious of how you are speaking. Over time you will develop better habits.

On January 12 2012 10:07 Sinensis wrote:


I'll put mine side by side with yours:

I disagree and feel that power and emotionality are associated with one another. Historically there have been people who use emotions to manipulate an audience for power. Bob Ross and Fred Rogers for example use soft speech and body language to communicate gentle emotions to their audiences. The joy this demeanor brings to their fans has earned both men celebrity status worldwide even after their deaths.

I disagree and feel that power and emotionality are associated with one another through the approach of legitimate power such as charismatic leaders (Sarah Palin, Nixon, etc.) and that despite them being terrible people, they gained a legitimate form of power (of influence or other forms) by not only recognizing emotions that a collective society feels on general issues, but can also use those emotions to sway people in their favor.


Mine is a little happier and doesn't hurt anyone's feelings in case they're a Palin fan (they exist). Also no one gets lost in confusing punctuation like many of these ((())())() and long sentences.

On January 12 2012 10:09 kirdie wrote:
Do some courses in logic, this should help you stay on the point and formulate meaningful sentence transitions.

On January 12 2012 10:14 Thaniri wrote:
I'm in high school, but perhaps I could relate.

When participating in class discussions, normally my contribution tends to silence the class for an awkward moment, but I don't claim to be smart like your over-9000 some shit like that class. I'm just a high school kid who gets average grades.

On the odd chance of a debate coming up, more often than not I am prepared with all my arguements (well, its all actually heat of the moment), but sometimes I'll say something that I think is brilliant, get a counter-question and I have no answer.

On January 12 2012 10:16 3FFA wrote:


Dude, breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. GOD. DAMN. FUCKING. BREAAAAAAAATH!!!!

In other words: punctuation shall make everything better.

Also, see if there are ways for you to study what the teacher wants you to learn before the actual lesson. For example, my teachers put their power points they use in their lesson plans on a site where we can log in, download them, and open them. Using them however we please. I often will take advantage of this and get hw done/ become the one kid that actually knows where the teacher is going with this and help the class move along. I'm generally considered an "over achiever" because I do this (As in, my fellow students actually gave me the nick name "over achiever"). It allows me to show that I am smart as I will also put my own viewpoint on things I disagree with, but knowing where the teacher is going with this, I will be able to keep the class moving as well and connect it to the conversation. It even allows me to have enough extra time to prepare for conversations before-hand and find any flaws in what I would've said.

I actually type stuff up on TL in pms to myself and will continually delete and retype it up. Sometimes when I don't have that time to type stuff up on TL I will literally imagine myself typing it out in my head. Then I change stuff around and boom. I got myself something to say.

edit: WTF 4 pages?!?!?!? It was 2 when I started this... FML. (and torti's too lol)