For the purpose for being considered as smart is eloquence and self-confidence more important than actual knowledge and real substance?

[noname223]

I am pretty eloquent and some people consider me really smart. But I think most people overestimate me. In my native languange I am even more eloquent. I know al ot of technical terms. But I think I am not that smart. I met this STEM professor with low language skills. He was in a complete different dimension intelligence wise. He was very hesitant to claim things. I think it is something quantum physics teaches you. There is so much uncertainty in our knowledge. There is so much unknown. Our ability to comprehend is very limited. Me instead I follow the media a lot. And there is an attention economy. Not sure whether that translates well. The people who shout the loudest and the most controversial statements get all the attention. In the case of Donald Trump they even get into very high positions.

This is also caused by social media. I think my consumption of Youtubers seduced me to strong opinions. It is something older intellectuals criticize about our generation. Too much emphasis on strong opinions before doing one's homework (reading and studying). The boring part the reading is neglected. Me instead of reading I post/shit my daily opinion on the internet unfiltered.

Sometimes I tried to mix my attitude with his. Also in this forum. I emphasized that my knowledge is very limited. I sometimes received rude responses why I would post such a bullshit without thinking twice. However, the people who responded in such a way usually spend less time to think about the topic than me. And the allegations/claims could be easily dismantled.

So I think maybe that's an ill of our current society and century. The noisy people with high confidence are trusted too much. There is the Duning Kruger effect that stupid people often overestimate themselves. They are more vocal and get more attention which is a very important currency. The experts instead are ignored. However, the term "expert" is also exploited by the media and distorted. Lobbyists for example are often also considered to be experts which is insane.
In my country there was the juxtaposition between "science/reason" and the irrational during covid. The whole thing is way more complex though. There is not one science. There is not one position that is represented by science as a whole.

 

[Chinaski]

Being able to blag it, wing it, bullshit your way through will get you further than you'd expect on a day to day basis, certainly - but exceptionally intelligent and capable people will see through this and work you out.

 

[derpyderpins]

Don't worry about whether you're "smart" as a label. We can always learn more in terms of factual knowledge, wisdom and instincts, and processing/reasoning skills.

Charisma certainly matters for getting people to listen and presenting an argument. But there's something beyond presentation and "knowledge/substance" that I think is more important, and that would be the ability to adapt and problem solve. I know a lot of people who know a lot of things but I'd still consider them to be dumb. They would be the type to inflexibly cling to a strong opinion, because they think they "know" it as some absolute truth.

I find it's best to have actual well-intentioned conversations with people who have a view that you don't understand. Start with the absolute basics and find where you disagree that causes the opinions to diverge. Don't discount groups of people: understand why they are the way they are. When you find someone unwilling to have the conversation where their views may be challenged, I would say they are outside that "smart" category, no matter what their IQ may be.

Another great method is taking up a stance you disagree with in argument, just as an exercise.

When we're discussing present issues - as you've observed - the value of reading/studying is going down because EVERYONE who is writing what you read has a bias. That's always been true but it's turned up to 11. This means more than ever that an ability to sift through the BS and understand the underlying issue is key. One must be flexible, not rigid. That doesn't mean you can't have a strong opinion, but your strongest opinions should be ones you have vigorously challenged to fortify your understanding of the subject.