These professors need to slow tf down.

Really hard to meet those people. Far too many of the "smart people" I met in school were pompous dickheads, and also hyper-judgemental. It's like they weren't popular in school but were smart, so "smart guy" melted into their persona, now it's like a badge they have to defend. If they sense any sort of real knowledge in you, it's like they immediately start a game of questions with you, and if you give any answer not to their liking they use that to not just denounce your point, but denounce your knowledge as well. And if you actually win their "prove you're smart" game, they may have more respect for you, but always with the hint that you qualified yourself to them, so you must look up to them & they're still better. Egotistical jackasses, with their entire ego wrapped up in "being smart".

At one point, I purposely cut ties with all of them I knew after school. I started calling it "smart person syndrome", because I literally still hadn't met a single person who also liked to talk about 'smart stuff' AND didn't let it go to their head. I thought they all were that way. I still prefer the guys who drink beer and talk women & football. I still have to talk about the tech stuff to get it off my chest, but I try to do the broad strokes, less technical details, so I don't become the smart guy jackass myself. And my friends mainly just put up with it. Pretend to listen, nod at me and say, "crazy man", then change the subject. Works for me!

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