EPTDumb people are the ones who live their daily lives watching fox news, and thinking they are informed.
It takes a smart person to have a good look at themselves and realise they are not as smart as they think they are.
What does it feel like to be smart? - Page 2
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sluggaslamoo
Australia4494 Posts
Dumb people are the ones who live their daily lives watching fox news, and thinking they are informed. It takes a smart person to have a good look at themselves and realise they are not as smart as they think they are. | ||
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HowitZer
United States1610 Posts
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scarper65
1560 Posts
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oPPRoBe
United States199 Posts
On March 14 2012 22:27 Azera wrote: Why won't you belittle yourself instead of overestimating yourself? I believe it's not a matter of picking one of the two polar opposite sides of inferiority and overestimation. It's a balancing act to find the place in the middle  | ||
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Cyber_Cheese
Australia3615 Posts
On March 14 2012 21:44 darkscream wrote: I'm a person who grew up being told I was really smart. I got good grades, used big words, had a knack for technology and math, etc etc etc. But I actually never really felt that smart. I often wondered what it was that made me different from somebody who was "stupid". It's actually fucked me up in life a lot, because to this day I'm not actually sure if I'm smarter than most people or not. It's true that to this day, I figure things out faster/solve problems easier than a lot of people around me. But, it has also had the side effect, that I consider anyone with vaguely mainstream tastes to be "stupid". If you use facebook, you're stupid. If you like watching reality TV, you are stupid. If you listen to pop music, you are stupid. And it's not as if I just think low of people who don't like the same things as I do.. It's more like I've found a correlation in people I find to be dumb, after I realize it, I check their interests and hobbies and more often than not they follow the pattern. And someone I find "smart", after the fact I find they usually avoid those things too. But what gets me is that even to this day, people get a vibe from me and go "oooh, you're a smartypants". And I still feel like nothing special. I can see other people as dumb, but never see myself as particularly smart. I don't feel dumb either. I guess, its hard to see yourself as anything but average. After all, the only real benchmark you have to judge other people is yourself. I had a similar experience. I never really realized how often I was applying myself in school, by showing up and listening to the teacher, and attempting to think things through (while other people fell asleep or chatted). I went through getting called a genius, but never really learnt that I put in the effort to be good, rather than just being 'naturally talented'. Long story short, I feel like my inability to learn to put in effort was the reason I ended up failing university. As such, I've come to believe that 'smart' people just know how to put in that effort into higher learning. | ||
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Azera
3800 Posts
On March 14 2012 22:34 sluggaslamoo wrote: OP you sound like a very smart person. Dumb people are the ones who live their daily lives watching fox news, and thinking they are informed. It takes a smart person to have a good look at themselves and realise they are not as smart as they think they are. Ah, I'm not smart at all, I'am but a 15 year old boy. On March 14 2012 22:36 HowitZer wrote: I think you described a smart person well. I think they observe more of the world than other people. Their mind is simply open to processing all kinds of information from everywhere. They are less occupied with societal trends and more with absolute truths. Most of all I think a smart person is able to translate their thoughts into a form someone else can understand. That is difficult. Thanks! On March 14 2012 22:43 scarper65 wrote: It feels amazing. =p On March 14 2012 22:44 oPPRoBe wrote: I believe it's not a matter of picking one of the two polar opposite sides of inferiority and overestimation. It's a balancing act to find the place in the middle Haha yes, I agree. | ||
Teoita
Italy12247 Posts
Ah, I'm not smart at all, I'am but a 15 year old boy. Look at it this way: the op shows you use your brain. Stupid people don't use their brain. Therefore at the very least you aren't dumb Besides as you said, the concept of "smart" is very subjective and changes in various contexts. A few friends of mine think i'm really intelligent simply because of what i study, but im average among physics students. On the other hand, compared to people that study say communication science simply to get a degree...yeah  | ||
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HwangjaeTerran
Finland5967 Posts
I don't think there is such thing as genius, just curiosity and sense of responsibility. I know this isn't much of an explanation to most people but if I write any longer the more unlikely it is for me to hit the post button. And that's stupid and ignorant, which is the very opposite of genius and also very real. I guess a smart person can go outside in any weather, like what he sees and senses so much that he feels it's okay to question and inspect. Because whatever happens he always has his favourite place. Acquiescence can lead to ignorance aswell so it's one of those funny differences in humans. | ||
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Cortza
South Africa328 Posts
On March 14 2012 21:38 zalz wrote: Some things just click. A genius doesn't have to constantly wonder about everything from physics, (how/why does electricity travel) biology (why are leaves green) and market economics (why is the McDonalds where it is). I think it is pretty impossible to be a rennaisance man these days. Each field of science has just gone so far that committing yourself to a single discipline is already a life-time of work. But some people are indeed better at picking up some things, or just all things in general. All in all, people like to overestimate their own intelligence. TL often describes itself as "above average intelligence" whilst it isn't above average in any fashion. People ascribe intelligence to external traits like being an introvert whilst the two aren't really related. People ascribe certain fields (phyiscs) as more intellectually demanding than others (sociology). A lot of it has to do with perception as well. End of the day, never call yourself smart. You are smart when other people call you smart. This. Really, Liszt could improvise on the piano when he was a little toddler. He didn't even need lessons, just the inspiration of someone else's playing and he took off from there. When I was studying piano I was obsessed with the idea of what it was like to be that good. Like just wtf went on in their brains? It was a pointless persuit because I never learned how to do what they could and it just confused me further. | ||
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Cyber_Cheese
Australia3615 Posts
On March 14 2012 23:01 Cortza wrote: This. Really, Liszt could improvise on the piano when he was a little toddler. He didn't even need lessons, just the inspiration of someone else's playing and he took off from there. When I was studying piano I was obsessed with the idea of what it was like to be that good. Like just wtf went on in their brains? It was a pointless persuit because I never learned how to do what they could and it just confused me further. I would argue that he got lessions by watching someone else play. He looked, listened, payed attention and therefore he understood cause and effect of each of the notes. 'This plays that sound', 'these notes go well together', etc. | ||
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JingleHell
United States11308 Posts
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Clazziquai10
Singapore1949 Posts
I'm good at math and science but I suck at starcraft 2. I don't have a flair for games. I can't multitask very well. I am really not a fast learner when it comes to anything other than mathematics and science. I have poor hand-eye coordination and hence I suck at piano, or rather sight reading in particular. Tried my hands at drums and failed miserably as a result of that as well. Also can't play games like DJmax very well cos of that. I suck at sports. I have poor spatial awareness and game sense so I cant play soccer/frisbee/basketball very well. I'm not good looking. I'm short and scrawny. I have poor social skills. I have never been good at talking to people. I don't have many friends. I can't look pretty girls in the eye. I slouch most of the time. I don't have a good sense of humour. Now, upon considering all of the above, why on earth would I want to be smart if I suck at everything else? | ||
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OpticalShot
Canada6330 Posts
On March 14 2012 23:07 Cyber_Cheese wrote: I would argue that he got lessions by watching someone else play. He looked, listened, payed attention and therefore he understood cause and effect of each of the notes. 'This plays that sound', 'these notes go well together', etc. That still means he was self-taught using the materials available to him (but those materials weren't directed at him). I could only guess (I am not a Liszt by any means) that he had superb memory to retain whatever he listened to, and something special in him that could mold those memories into concepts which could be recalled quickly and emotionally. I tend to improvise better (and with better structure / central idea) when I keep a topic in my head (ex: rainy day) and review all my memories associated with that topic (ex: a rainy movie scene, Chopin's raindrop etude, being stuck in traffic in a rainy day, etc.). Anyway, all of that is based on my view of how it's done, none of this is official or documented (or maybe it is, but I haven't looked it up). | ||
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dUTtrOACh
Canada2339 Posts
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Nehsb
United States380 Posts
I find that inspiration for me comes when I'm able to just do whatever I want. As in the state of mind where you're able to just explore, without being affected by reasons other than curiosity. A lot of people who are "very good" but are never amazing just seem to me like they're motivated largely by success, and they can never really do stuff out of pure curiosity... On a sidenote, I disagree with the original post that a "smart person" needs to apply this attitude to the entire world. People who can apply that attitude to any specific thing, even for just a few minutes, are extremely rare. | ||
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imre
France9263 Posts
On March 14 2012 21:51 Zorkmid wrote: I'm pretty sure that being really smart would be quite depressing. Ignorance is bliss. I can't remember who said it, or their exact words.....but something like.... "If you think you're smart, you're stupid. If you think you're stupid, you're smart." lot of ppl have said something along those lines, i'm quite sure Pascal (french philosopher/mathematician) was one of them. But it's a common occurence. | ||
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DoubleReed
United States4130 Posts
But yea, I wonder about random stuff like in the OP. And happily we know most of those answers. If you want learn the basics of quantum mechanics just go for it. There are plenty of tools to help you along the way. Humility is commonly overrated though. Take credit for doing a good job or understanding something. People are too quick to put themselves down and demoralize themselves into not doing things. Train yourself not to be lazy. | ||
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imre
France9263 Posts
On March 14 2012 23:16 dUTtrOACh wrote: I think an intelligent person on a bus is thinking of ways to improve their life and get a car. pretty sure that's quite a stupid statement. | ||
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Littlemuff
United Kingdom301 Posts
On March 14 2012 23:14 Clazziquai10 wrote: There are many kinds of "smartness" that people have - I'm pretty smart if you consider smart as being, in its most common meaning, good at mathematics, science etc. However there are many other kinds of smartness/ability/talent that I wish I had in its place but don't. I'm good at math and science but I suck at starcraft 2. I don't have a flair for games. I can't multitask very well. I am really not a fast learner when it comes to anything other than mathematics and science. I have poor hand-eye coordination and hence I suck at piano, or rather sight reading in particular. Tried my hands at drums and failed miserably as a result of that as well. Also can't play games like DJmax very well cos of that. I suck at sports. I have poor spatial awareness and game sense so I cant play soccer/frisbee/basketball very well. I'm not good looking. I'm short and scrawny. I have poor social skills. I have never been good at talking to people. I don't have many friends. I can't look pretty girls in the eye. I slouch most of the time. I don't have a good sense of humour. Now, upon considering all of the above, why on earth would I want to be smart if I suck at everything else? I agree with this. On a slightly different note its sometimes its good to consider the difference between academic smart and being generally smart. My old housemate was the typical bimbo blonde. fell for everything and made stupid comments. But she could study nonstop, got top grades, knew 3 different languages. Yet i wouldnt really consider her an intellectual or anything. Just someone who was good at studying and remembering. | ||
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Nehsb
United States380 Posts
On March 14 2012 23:30 Littlemuff wrote: I agree with this. On a slightly different note its sometimes its good to consider the difference between academic smart and being generally smart. My old housemate was the typical bimbo blonde. fell for everything and made stupid comments. But she could study nonstop, got top grades, knew 3 different languages. Yet i wouldnt really consider her an intellectual or anything. Just someone who was good at studying and remembering. I don't think it's that easy to separate it. Some people do better academically while not being generally smart because they're better at studying and remembering. But some people just don't find real life as interesting as what they're learning academically. | ||
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