AstroSky
Mistral
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2018
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We tend to equate smooth social interaction with intelligence, while true intellectual depth is often met with suspicion or dismissed as arrogance. For a long time, I mistakenly believed that sheer intelligence and competence would naturally lead to recognition and opportunity. I've since learned a difficult truth: showcasing your intellect can not only fail to bring success, but can actively hinder your progress in any pursuit involving other people.
This might sound like mere personal observation, but the more I delve into the concept of perceived intelligence, the clearer it becomes that the average person's idea of smarts has little connection to actual intellectual capability. What most people interpret as intelligence is, in reality, a blend of strong social skills and the ability to subtly mirror others.
Everyone likes to think of themselves as intelligent, regardless of their actual capacity.
When someone mirrors another, it creates an unconscious positive association..... a feeling of kinship, like, "This person thinks like I do, so they must be just as capable and intelligent." For those with genuine intellectual prowess, however, the effect is often the opposite, fostering a negative bias that sounds more like, "I don't understand what they're saying; clearly, this is just a pretentious show-off who fancies themselves smarter than me." Suddenly, everything you say is scrutinized, you become unpopular, and you might find yourself facing professional setbacks for reasons that seem irrational.
Once you recognize this pattern, you'll see it everywhere: individuals ill-suited for their roles rising to prominence, brilliant minds struggling in menial jobs despite their potential,
Brilliant engineers being forced to work in wallmart despite them being able to do so much more.
Kids in school getting good or bad grades regardless of how good their project were.
You will see people with genius level intellect fail despite their insane IQ.
To echo Schopenhauer, "people prefer the company of those that make them feel superior."
This might sound like mere personal observation, but the more I delve into the concept of perceived intelligence, the clearer it becomes that the average person's idea of smarts has little connection to actual intellectual capability. What most people interpret as intelligence is, in reality, a blend of strong social skills and the ability to subtly mirror others.
Everyone likes to think of themselves as intelligent, regardless of their actual capacity.
When someone mirrors another, it creates an unconscious positive association..... a feeling of kinship, like, "This person thinks like I do, so they must be just as capable and intelligent." For those with genuine intellectual prowess, however, the effect is often the opposite, fostering a negative bias that sounds more like, "I don't understand what they're saying; clearly, this is just a pretentious show-off who fancies themselves smarter than me." Suddenly, everything you say is scrutinized, you become unpopular, and you might find yourself facing professional setbacks for reasons that seem irrational.
Once you recognize this pattern, you'll see it everywhere: individuals ill-suited for their roles rising to prominence, brilliant minds struggling in menial jobs despite their potential,
Brilliant engineers being forced to work in wallmart despite them being able to do so much more.
Kids in school getting good or bad grades regardless of how good their project were.
You will see people with genius level intellect fail despite their insane IQ.
To echo Schopenhauer, "people prefer the company of those that make them feel superior."
