• Pat_Riot@lemmy.today
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    20 hours ago

    It’s perfectly fine to think that you are more intelligent than those around you, you might be right. Generally speaking, though, if it’s true you’d shut the fuck up about it and maintain your advantage.

    • Iconoclast@feddit.ukOP
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      19 hours ago

      That’s the thing. Many would say that declaring it out loud is already proof it’s not true, but I’m not sure that logic holds up.

      I can totally imagine a person of below-average intelligence thinking they’re smart. But would a genuinely smart person conversely think they’re actually stupid? I don’t think so. They might be more humble about all the things they realize they don’t know, but that’s a different thing.

      Also, being socially clumsy and saying stuff like that is exactly what I’d expect from a truly intelligent person. When I picture an actual genius, social skills aren’t the first thing that comes to mind.

      Intelligence might be desireable but it can come with trade-offs. It doesn’t exist in a vacuum and may not thus be all good.

        • Iconoclast@feddit.ukOP
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          19 hours ago

          That’s why I said:

          They might be more humble about all the things they realize they don’t know, but that’s a different thing.

          This doesn’t mean they think they’re less intelligent than average. They just have a more accurate view of their actual skill level.

          A person might be highly competent in their field and objectively well above average in knowledge, yet still remain acutely aware of how much more there is to know - stuff they didn’t even realize existed when they started.

          • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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            19 hours ago

            No, that’s the opposite. Humility is when you know you’re good but don’t flaunt it. These people know enough to know they’re NOT good.

            • anonymouse2@sh.itjust.works
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              18 hours ago

              I don’t think that knowing how much you don’t know equates to believing that you’re stupid. I know enough about a few subjects to know that I couldn’t do them professionally, but I still don’t feel stupid in those areas because I know more about them than the average person.

              • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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                14 hours ago

                know that I couldn’t do them professionally,

                That’s exactly the point. People who know less than you do think that they could do it. They’re ignorant of their ignorance.

                The most relatable example I can think of: how often has your boss come to you and asked for something that’s super complicated, but he thinks it’s easy to do because he doesn’t know enough.

  • TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works
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    20 hours ago

    Intelligence is multifaceted. You can be highly intelligent in some areas, and not very intelligent in others.

    • MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world
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      13 hours ago

      And variable. You can be highly intelligent today, but in ten years? A dumbass.

      Modern media can turn a person’s mind to mush. People who stay sharp are the people who keep reading (books, not memes and comments!), who challenge themselves to learn new useless things, who stay active in mind and body.

      I think we’ve all seen our fair share of people go through this as they age. They find a comfort zone and become programmed by their routine.

  • Mark with a Z@suppo.fi
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    18 hours ago

    Well yeah. 11 out of 10 times the people calling themselves more intelligent than most mean that they are just superior. Being unable to shut the fuck about it is also a sign of one aspect of it being lower.

  • Quilotoa@lemmy.ca
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    19 hours ago

    What? Who frowns on people who think they’re above average intelligence? People around here get frowned upon if they are a jerk about it, but not otherwise.

  • Tanis Nikana@lemmy.world
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    20 hours ago

    I’ve got an IQ of ninety-six.

    That’s not the real number, or maybe it is. At least, that’s what I tell people how much my IQ is. I haven’t been tested in a long time, and I don’t really want to be. The important thing is, ninety-six is such an absolutely average number, and it’s on the ever-so-slightly low side of average, that it immediately deadens all further IQ-related questioning, and helps explain that IQ is a bullshit concept anyway.

  • kbal@fedia.io
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    19 hours ago

    Let’s aim for a higher than 50% chance — we have to make the average go up.

  • TheLunatickle@lemmy.zip
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    19 hours ago

    The more you think you know, the less you understand. It’s just how humans function, so if you think you’re smart the odds are that you are not.

    • Iconoclast@feddit.ukOP
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      19 hours ago

      The more you think you know, the less you understand.

      This doesn’t quite make sense to me.

      That would suggest that my perceived knowledge about plumbing systems is a strong indicator that I don’t actually understand them - despite having done it professionally for over a decade.

      What I think is true is that someone with a very basic level of knowledge simply doesn’t know what they don’t know - which explains the strong conviction and lack of nuance, for example. But I don’t think that the belief in one’s knowledge or abilities alone is an indicator of the opposite being true.