I appreciate that that article was short and to the point.
Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders
11–20 of 336 posts
Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders
#12I appreciate that that article was short and to the point.
Definitely. I really dislike the current trend in article writing, where the author(s) feel a need to start off with a multi-paragraph, tangentially-related (at best) narative about how their cousin's friend's sister's aunt felt this way and that about something, and the actual meat of the article is buried somewhere in the last 1/4th of the text.
Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders
#13Looked up an IQ test to see if I'm too smart or too stupid to communicate.
Apparently I'm too smart. Thankfully that can be fixed! Lead poisoning, here I come! I'll pick up my old weed habit just to be safe.
Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders
#14When I was a kid my family would often chide me for using "big words" and told I was trying to "impress everyone" doing that. The truth is, I was just trying to relate something I'd learned and thought was interesting and every time that happened I was kind of shocked and left wondering how they'd missed the gist of what I was talking about. My own mother did it. I finally stopped sharing things I thought they'd atta…
I had the same issue, and essentially developed a lingo to speak to those kinds of people. More contractions, dropped g’s, “fucking” used as an adjective. It’s been a couple of decades, and every time I switch to that, I feel like an utter fraud, but sadly it works. I can’t imagine what I’d do if that hadn’t been an option though.
Edit: Support group at my place everyone, coffee and donuts will be provided. ;)
Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders
#15I would really like to see this study reproduced in an engineering environment. I wonder if the same trend holds, just a higher set point.
Or the same, or gasp lower?..
The STEM condescension is pretty intense here.
Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders
#16There could be something else at work here.
My father told me that con men preferred to go after smart people, like doctors. The reason is that smart people thought they were too smart to get conned, and hence were more gullible.
He was also an economist, and told me that there wasn't an economist born who could stand the idea that the economy would run better (i.e. free market) without their "help".
And I've noticed many smart leaders who thought they were much smarter than they actually were, and didn't need to listen to others' advice, leading to some very poor decisions.
Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders
#17When I was a kid my family would often chide me for using "big words" and told I was trying to "impress everyone" doing that. The truth is, I was just trying to relate something I'd learned and thought was interesting and every time that happened I was kind of shocked and left wondering how they'd missed the gist of what I was talking about. My own mother did it. I finally stopped sharing things I thought they'd atta…
I had the same issue, and essentially developed a lingo to speak to those kinds of people. More contractions, dropped g’s, “fucking” used as an adjective. It’s been a couple of decades, and every time I switch to that, I feel like an utter fraud, but sadly it works. I can’t imagine what I’d do if that hadn’t been an option though. Edit: Support group at my place everyone, coffee and donuts will be provided. ;)
You forgot to add "fucking" in couple of places. :-D
Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders
#18I appreciate that that article was short and to the point.
Definitely. I really dislike the current trend in article writing, where the author(s) feel a need to start off with a multi-paragraph, tangentially-related (at best) narative about how their cousin's friend's sister's aunt felt this way and that about something, and the actual meat of the article is buried somewhere in the last 1/4th of the text.
They even do that for simple things like recipe websites. I google some food, find a recipe, and most of the time the first four paragraphs are describing the first time the author cooked with saffron or the cultural impact of the spice trade a thousand years ago. You know what? All I want is the recipe for my pressure cooker.
Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders
#19When I was a kid my family would often chide me for using "big words" and told I was trying to "impress everyone" doing that. The truth is, I was just trying to relate something I'd learned and thought was interesting and every time that happened I was kind of shocked and left wondering how they'd missed the gist of what I was talking about. My own mother did it. I finally stopped sharing things I thought they'd atta…
I rarely use big words when there's a simpler one that has almost the exact same meaning.
Sometimes I'm communicating something quite precise and nuanced.
In those cases I may use big words because it is the right word to use.
English is my 2nd language as well, so if nothing else I think I would deserve some credit for having developed a good vocabulary.
It annoys me when people dismiss the precision in the language as "big words" or "trying to impress". It shows that they are not listening carefully enough, or that they have such a weak vocabulary that they are just overwhelmed by a few words they are not familiar with.
Context is also important. I rarely do that with basic day to day conversations. But hey if you throw some big complex question at me about a professional topic in a professional environment then don't expect a 1st-grader-friendly response.
Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders
#20Looked up an IQ test to see if I'm too smart or too stupid to communicate. Apparently I'm too smart. Thankfully that can be fixed! Lead poisoning, here I come! I'll pick up my old weed habit just to be safe.
Don't believe online IQ tests...