Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watmum.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!water!watmum!cdshaw From: cdshaw@watmum.UUCP (Chris Shaw) Newsgroups: net.singles Subject: Re: intelligence and intellectualism Message-ID: <195@watmum.UUCP> Date: Sun, 30-Jun-85 08:22:14 EDT Article-I.D.: watmum.195 Posted: Sun Jun 30 08:22:14 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 1-Jul-85 05:41:57 EDT Reply-To: cdshaw@watmum.UUCP (Chris Shaw) Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 42 >> This brings up a point which has troubled me for a long time. There's a >> strong anti-intellectual streak in the culture of the United States. >> Examples: >> >> Egghead Know-it-all Smartass Smart guy >> Wise ass Wise guy >> >> I've had most of these words used against me at one time or another. >> Usually the person who used them was someone who resented me knowing more >> about a subject than they did. They are not always used with sarcastic >> intent. More likely, the people who use these words object to a pedantic fool telling them what they don't know as a means of generating respect. I tend to think of myself as an intellectual kind of person, but I get seriously annoyed at a pedantic friend of mine. He has a bad habit of telling you everything he knows ad nauseam. He is so socially clued out that he never notices that people are annoyed at him. In his case, telling you loads of generally useless info is a means of gaining social acceptance (or something), but it doesn't ever seem to work for him because he can't "read" people. Being smart or intellectual isn't necessary, as a matter of fact. You just have to THINK you're a smart guy (or gal, but it seems to affect women only rarely). Most of the time, my friend talks about things with which I'm VERY familiar, and he invariably makes ridiculous blunders of fact. Too often, it seems, smart people think that by virtue of their intelligence, they are automagically BETTER than other people. Their activities are better, thier interests are more important, their goals in life more noble, and so on. I know, deep in my slimy heart, that I think this.. but it's mere egotism, and nothing more. This rubs off on other people who don't think the way "we" do, and they resent being looked upon as second class citizens by the high-and- mighty intellectual. The key, I guess, is to LISTEN before you talk, and try to guide conversation on a level that _everyone_ understands. ...and no, I never got beat up in school... I always was able to talk my way out of it ! Chris Shaw watmath!watmum!cdshaw or cdshaw@watmath University of Waterloo I was walking down the street one day, when suddenly... by baloney melted !