Here are some more wisdoms, as I turn 26 today.
From the previous post, although most people are idiots, one sad deduction is that you are one too. Although we can take comfort in the secure knowledge that we are better than the average person (well, nobody ever believes that they are average or below), we should admit that we're not the smartest guy/gal in the room. There will be other people that are less of an idiot than you are.
Some people can't stand smarter people. Some take advantage of them. Be sure that you belong to the later. Suck up to them, since it's them who are going to make your life easier. Specifically, they will make decisions for you, which again is what this game is all about - Avoid making decisions.
Hence, when you find a person who is smarter than you are, go along. From then on, the adult responsibilities on your shoulder largely becomes ones of saying "sound like a good idea, let do it", or "it sounds great, but what about A". The second version is particular attractive because you will either learn something about A when the smart person explains to you why he didn't pick it, or you will seem sharp by pointing out something the smart person hasn't thought of. It's a win-win.
Last one.
There is only one thing that people hate more than being called "an idiot"; that is being called "an idiot" in a self-righteous voice. You can apologize in the former, but you won't really get the chance to make amend in the later; they probably will not listen even when you do a good job.
Most of us think we are better than most people we know. When somebody calls us an idiot, it rubs us hard always. You could be intellectually superior; it's a bad idea if you make it too obvious unless you really intend to provoke someone. However it's understood that everyone needs to release his or her frustrations sometimes. Internet forums that are not related to your daily life are great place to take out your problems at other people. Write insulting posts with a sneer just to get into a good flame once in a while; it will feed your ego. The key is not to crap too close to home.
On another hand, being too polite and subtle often doesn't produce the desired effect. Politeness easily ends up going overdone and thus hiding the problem. Be blunt to nail the point if the point is important, because you can't really depend on people getting your point otherwise. A little humor helps; going extreme and being ridiculous can get your point across without making it painful to the recipient.
I'm going to Vegas for a week. See you soon.
Hello, friends. I hope I helped.
-k
Comments