Colossus said:
Most people think "most people" are not smart. But no one is ever aware they are one of "those people". So
who are they?
Oh wait, the incompetent cannot know they are incompetent. The knowledge they need to produce a right answer or action is exactly the knowledge they need to know what the fvck "right" is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
Everyone thinks they are smarter than the majority. Everyone has all the answers and could ostensibly command an army or a football team or congress from their living room recliner. But by statistical definition, not everyone is that great. Even the majority is, by definition, not that great. So who are the real idiots? The real producers and geniuses??
The only way to tell with even a modicum of certainty is to look at RESULTS. Everyone thinks they have the right answer but who is churning out a verifiable product? Who is producing consistently correct answers the majority of the time? Who has a demonstrable command of their own native language (I'm serious)? Who can actually recognize errors and tell you WHY they are errors, with reproducible accuracy? Who can recognize the limitation of their own abilities and defer to more expert hands? Those people are damn few and could actually, statistically, be considered of above-average intelligence. But it's probably not you.
I deal with this at work all the time. The idiots don't even know they are idiots. They can't. How do I know they are idiots? Well because they are producing incorrect or inappropriate answers and actions on a regular basis. I am certainly not immune either. The key is being able to recognize when something is out of your scope and refer or ask for direction. That alone wont make you a genius, but it will make you functionally more intelligent that the majority.
Also, big lulz:
Fortunately I've had more than one person tell me I'm smart. People that I don't even really know
but when they hear me talk that is their conclusion, at least they recognize I'm smarter than them.
Nice link to wikipedia. What you said is a contradiction. Many people who are intelligent probably notice that others have an intellectual impediment.
And the last and final blow to the foundation of your post is that making poor decisions is not necessarily based on intelligence.
Your trying to tell me stupid people think they are smarter than most, and people who are smarter than most think they are not? That is retarded.
Even my college professors think I'm smart, they also tell me they enjoy having me in class. They also have had a chance to get to know me, talk to me, and understand how I think, unlike you.
Are you smart colossus? Based on your logic, if you think you are smart your not right? But if you say your not you are? Laughable.
My college professors think I'm smart also. Is it a coincidence that my math professor told me I'm gifted at math? Or could it be because I finish my work faster than others, and get a better grade while studying less?
Is it because my EET prfossor wanted to know how I did so well even though I don't go to lecture? He even bumped me up from a B to an A.
Last semester, I was taking my dc/ac midterm, I was drinking a liter of vadkah (The tests are online, and no I didn't Google anything I just know what im doing). We get 2 hours to do it, I finished in 15 mins and got 96% (had I not drank I wouldn't have miscalculated and got a 100%. Other people had to take it twice and still got a 60%. I also never did the actual labs, I would just analyze the circuits on paper. People drop from that major like flys. I don't even go to the lectures and I got an A. So am I smart?? or lucky???
My sociology professor thinks I'm smart to. He told me he hopes I take more of his classes, he likes my ideas about society.
So colossus, maybe I'm just dumb. lol. Just playing, I'm smart man.
However, I'm sure you went to America public schools, which are garbage and a joke. So I can understand, I empathize.
Smart people can make the same poor decisions as dumb people, and get the same bad results. That's not how you gauge ones intelligence. Nice try though, I give you a c- for effort.