Know-it-all

[HCGLNS]

I find that I have gotten to the point that unless the misinformation is vital for work or could pose a safety risk, there is no benefit for me to correct the misinformed. Making them look dumb or starting and arguement over minutia no longer interests me.

 

[PatrThom]

The thing is, after somebody has broken/failed at something, they usually come to me. And then you're not a know-it-all, you're their damned savior.

Man, I am so there.

There was a time when I felt I had to prove to the World and everyone around me that I knew so much. This would also be the period in my life when I had the fewest friends. I feel fairly confident that the two were related. Since then, I've concluded that it is much better for others to discover that you are smart, rather than freely volunteering that information.

Now I'm in a position where I'm actually paid money because I know more than most people. And that suits me...partially because I finally feel justified for having learned so much, and also because when someone comes to me, it is because they are already under the impression that I know more about the task at hand than they do, so it comes as no surprise. I can't tell you how awkward it can be to have to reluctantly admit/prove to someone that you're some quantum level smarter than he is. Nobody ever seems to be embarrassed to ask a guy who outweighs them by 90lb/40kg to help lift something, or a woman who is 6in/15cm taller to get something down from a shelf, but when confronted by a troubling problem, they'll hammer away at it for an absurdly long time before admitting that they need a little cerebral help, or get angry at you for offering. By the same token, I'll get shunned and ostracized so much harder for admitting my intelligence than I would for demonstrating my speed, my strength, my height, or even my singing/musical ability. And I don't get why that is. I mean, I never have this problem with 6yr-olds.

In fact, I'm often confronted with what I've (just now) chosen to call the 'Witch's dilemma,' where people get angry at you because you couldn't (re)solve something with your mystical brain magicks, and they were depending on you to be able to do so. It's so much easier to be the guru, the , reveals some hitherto unguessed secret or demonstrates some sort of skill, and then disappears.

--Patrick
(For the record, I absolutely suck at History and Sports. Names, places, dates, stats...bah!)