I am smarter than everyone!

B

Bandit

Guest
i work with some people who are awesome. but there are three who declare they are smarter than everyone else & they know more than others.

one is a young lady who just got her degree in teaching Jr High Scool & she declares that she is literally smarter than most people & she believes it.:rolleyes:

another is a gentleman who is our web lacky & he keeps our business site running & updated. he declares the rest of the world is stupid & he is smarter than everyone except for Bill Gates:rolleyes: .

another is a part timer who does some repairs & is quite smart in repairing tools & machines in the medical field. Yet he cannot comprehend how the world is older than 2005 years old because of the calendar & declares he is smarter than everyone.

so this kind of tells me they are saying the same thing about me & how stupid I am.

i have never taken that approach toward people, even when at times I wonder if someone has lost a marble.
I look for the areas that they are knowledgeable in.

I find it rather entertaining when i see two people together who believe they are smarter than others.:D

1)Have you encountered people like this & do you have an example? & what do you do?


2)Where do you think the belief comes from, for some people who think they are smarter than others?

this should be fun:)
 
I pretty much ignore it. Yeah, I've run into it (who hasn't?!). But it's really not worth my time to worry about it. Generally, the feeling I get from people that constantly have to announce how much better they are from others, no matter what area of life- intelligence, righteousness, strength, beauty, playing football... whatever- is that they are really insecure and that is why they feel that 1. they're in competition with everyone else on earth and 2. they can't just be themselves and trust that others will recognize their gifts and love them in spite of their weaknesses and 3. they're uncomfortable when people disagree with them or do things differently.

Self-confidence generally yields a sincere interest in learning from everyone and everything, not beating others over the head with your degrees or special knowledge.

I've seen this a lot in teaching with new teachers that are insecure in their role and knowledge base. They have a tendency to put up this huge barrier between themselves and the students to distinguish their higher status. Things like insisting students call them Dr. so-and-so or refusing to admit they can't answer every student's question, that they're still learning. Generally, it comes down to insecurity. But you won't grow confident if you constantly do this competition, saving face, etc. routine.

How do I respond? Ignore it, and act differently. Maybe it'll catch on. I've had people ask me about my "unique" teaching style and doesn't it disrupt the authority I have? Because the first thing I tell students in any class is that they are all anthropologists and will teach me something, and that we're all still learning. They just don't know yet how much they know. I'm there to be a mediator of discussion and facilitator of thought, not a professor of knowledge. We're all equals, I'm just the person elected to keep us on topic every day and guide them through a process I've already gone through. So far, I've had less issues with disruption and authority than practically anyone I know. Perhaps because I ask for respect and give it, rather than demanding it and returning none.

I truly believe every person on earth is supremely intelligent and has a gift of wisdom from God to give me. We all just have different intelligences and gifts.
 
Hi, Peace!

The teachers I have learned the most from thoughout the years have been the ones who were more interested in teaching than in maintaining "authority".

I learn something from my music students every time we meet, and none of them are over eighteen years of age. :).

InPeace,
InLove
 
i could never just totally ignore it, because it is too comical & makes for a great saturday night live.

i think you have a point there Path with the insecurity thing & putting up a barrier.

For Path & INLove, i am glad you are not that way when you teach, because i have dropped classes over some teachers being that way & went for a different teacher.
another form i like is when a good teacher does not give the absolute answer every time, but gives a choice in answers to think about & lets the student see how they fit together.

another one i could never figure out is when someone points out all the errors constantly like in speech or writing like they are the teacher for everyone & like they make no errors.:)

"how are you today?"

"good, thank you"

"No! you are not good! you are well."
 
People who think they know more than anyone else are inclusive to their environment. You should know that the people who truly believe this actually know nothing because they haven't really been anywhere or met very many people exclusive to their environment. But it's okay. Some people need to know more than everybody else so they can feel good about who they are. Stroke thier ego a bit - they just might rise up to the rest of the crowd.
 
InLove said:
Hi, Peace!

The teachers I have learned the most from thoughout the years have been the ones who were more interested in teaching than in maintaining "authority".

I learn something from my music students every time we meet, and none of them are over eighteen years of age. :).

InPeace,
InLove
Click to expand...

Going through life as a learner is a great way in my opinion. :) Good words there, InLove.

lunamoth
 
truthseeker said:
People who think they know more than anyone else are inclusive to their environment. You should know that the people who truly believe this actually know nothing because they haven't really been anywhere or met very many people exclusive to their environment. But it's okay. Some people need to know more than everybody else so they can feel good about who they are. Stroke thier ego a bit - they just might rise up to the rest of the crowd.
Click to expand...
yah. i see what you mean truthseeker. inclusive is a good point i never considered b4. i could, at every good opportunity tell them how much smarter they are than everyone, like chinese water torture. IF i can keep from busting my gutt:D

like you say, it is a REAL belief. we will find it from the richest people to the homeless people & in all walks of life. i am wondering if the belief starts when we are young people & some never catch on. i say that because i remember the times i thought i was smarter than the adults & i am thinking every young person goes thru that period (we know that much for sure).

we may need a psychiatrist who believes he is smarter than everyone to explain.
just makes me wonder how many people believe this way.
 
Faithfulservant said:
pfft my daddy was the smartest person in the world.. I know because he told me so!
Click to expand...
my 86 year old grandma is really cool about it. to this day when we meet & talk on the phone, the first thing she asks is,

What do you know for sure? Anything?

she will ask it real serious, then start laughing. it took me awhile to understand why she always asked it that way. :)
 
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