Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down The Most Annoying Things People Do To Sound Intelligent

It's the worst when you can tell when someone isn't being who they really are.

Fake people are the worst, however the only thing that could possibly be worse than someone who's a big faker is someone faking their intelligence.
Whatever self-esteem problem they have is all up to them, however you don't have to sit there and listen to them try to hold court.
Look for these signs and save yourself.

Reddit user GBJoe21 wanted to hear about:

"What are some annoying things that people do to sound/seem intelligent?"

Getting The Obvious Signs Out Of The Way

It's easy to recognize someone's arrogance most of the time. All you have to do is talk with them.

Not Sure If You're Using That Word Correctly

They use big words to make them sound more photosynthesis

_ethanchu

Sometimes the person who does so is clearly obnoxious, but at other times it might just be a result of differing personalities / life experiences. I enjoy reading and will sometimes use "bookish" words when talking to people online without realizing that they might be words the other person has never been exposed to before.

Mind101

No One Asked

Anyone who announces their (likely online) IQ test score, without anyone asking beforehand and without it even pertaining to the conversation.

Scarlets_Pink_Room

Putting It All On You

Announcing loudly "Incorrect" in conversation. I've only witnessed this with people that have no idea what they are talking about.

EverretEvolved

Memorization Is Not Comprehension

They say something they memorized, like the stupid kid in 2nd grade tried to look smart by saying that the cube root of 27 is 3. Well I asked him what is the cube root of 64, and then his "smartness" ended.

WelderDude38

The Slightly Less Obvious Ones

Sometimes there needs to be a little bit more from the person you're interacting with. Maybe they think they're being sneaky, keeping their supposed intelligence on the downlow until they can bust them out at the last possible minute.

Using "Facts"

Use a "fact" to back up their (often narrow) view or attitude, but completely fail to understand what said fact means, how it was gathered or how it should be used. And then just keep repeating that it is a fact.

Example: Let's say year X there were 100 in emergency care because of a virus.

Let's say 2020 there were 37 ppl in emergency care because of covid.

Person claims that this proves everyone just panicking for no reason as no one cared at year X, but fails to understand WHY there is a difference in those numbers - like, strict regulations taking place, etc. When questioned, keeps claiming it's a fact and the numbers don't lie.

Yeah....

sarcasmonster

"Why? I Already Know Everything."

Pretend they know something instead of trying to learn.

__A33A3317_SLAYER__

You're All Wrong. I'm Right.

Disagree with everyone else's perfectly valid points.

MrjB0ty

Pretending To Only Know Some People

Dismissing an argument by saying "Tell me someone I have actually heard of." Pretains mostly to pompous stuck up writers who want to act like they know best and are clearly more knowledgeable then others by dismissing opinions they don't agree with.

Estarosa1234

It's More Difficult To Break It Down

Making things complicated instead of simple. Intelligent people do the opposite.

MilitantPacifist13

A wonderful professor once told me anyone can make anything sound complicated. It takes true genius to simplify it for everyone.

He also taught me that when I thought I was an expert on any topic to go back to square one and learn about it all over again from a novice's point of view. Oftentimes we forget more than we retain and going back to the basics brings new insight.

40milesaway

It's A Pattern, Bro

I really hate in movies and tv shows when a character is doing a rubik's cube quickly and easily and it's supposed to convey that they're super smart. Anyone can go online and learn how to do these things easily. It's super easy, barely an inconvenience.

TheRealOcsiban

Before The Queen's Gambit, this used to be the case with chess as well, but in a slightly different way. Any time someone needs to appear smart, they will find a surprise move that is an instant checkmate against a presumably a strong opponent, which is utterly ridiculous. If your opponents doesn't see a mate in 1, or hell, any basic mating net for that matter, they are a beginner level player, not a strong opponent.

It was infuriating to watch over and over again in movies

GrandElemental

Okay, You Can Just Walk Away Now

However, if you find yourself in a conversation with someone who drops one of these lovely little pearls of wisdom on you, then you can feel free to leave the conversation without feeling too bad.​

No One Uses That Word In Casual Conversation

Bombastic people.

Using big words unnecessarily (and often incorrectly).

If you feel the need to tell 10 year-olds that their tangled earbuds are "discombobulated", you are not intelligent. Nor will people see you as intelligent, they will see you as weird.

philbar

When they use unnecessarily long words or jargon to make others feel stupid for not understanding. It's actually a better sign of intelligence to be able to explain something complex in a way anyone can understand.

mojomcm

Name Calling Is The Easiest Way To Lose

Calling someone sweetie as a way to "win" an argument.

f__h

Infantizing to dismiss an argument has to be a type of logical fallacy, but I am not sure which one it would be.

CollegeSuperSenior

If You Have To Say It, You're Not.

Talk about how intelligent they are.

fridayj1

Exactly what an unintelligent individual would say. Presumably the isinglass of the inexpensive wine you've been drinking caused a crater in your cerebrum. As a kid my comprehensive ingenuity luminated the classroom. Furthermore, I can divulge by your commentary that you're an apprehensive futile servant of society. Whiles I ponder about the philosophical controversies of the cosmos you're the one who kneels and brings my chamomile tea. A mind-numbing chore that's still too convoluted for you.

Declan_Smartwood

Intelligence and hard work are obviously traits to be admired, but if the person in possession of those smarts is only using it to try to appear better than you, then they're wasting their gift.

​Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Trump Just Gave A Bonkers Excuse For Why He Shared An AI Image Of Himself As Jesus—And Nobody's Buying It
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

Trump Just Gave A Bonkers Excuse For Why He Shared An AI Image Of Himself As Jesus—And Nobody's Buying It

After Pope Leo XVI criticized President Donald Trump's war with Iran, Trump called him "weak" in a post on Truth Social, credited himself for Leo's selection as pope, and even went so far as to post an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ.

Last week, the Pope called on the world "to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and is not resolving anything."

Keep ReadingShow less
Drew Barrymore reacts during an emotional “Scared to Wear” segment
@thedrewbarrymoreshow/TikTok

Drew Barrymore Gets Emotional Talking About Her Post-Pregnancy Body Insecurities—And Fans Are Applauding Her Candor

In an emotional segment titled “Scared to Wear,” Drew Barrymore opened up about her insecurities with disarming honesty. The actor and host is a mother of two daughters, Olive, 13, and Frankie, 11, whom she shares with ex-husband Will Kopelman.

During a recent episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, Barrymore became visibly emotional while speaking with a viewer undergoing a style makeover after struggling with self-image.

Keep ReadingShow less
NASA Chief Responds To 10-Year-Old's Adorable Letter Asking For Pluto To Be Reclassified As A Planet
RONALDO SCHEMIDT / Contributor/Getty Images; @latestinspace/X

NASA Chief Responds To 10-Year-Old's Adorable Letter Asking For Pluto To Be Reclassified As A Planet

Those of us who were in school prior to 2006 would be able to recite an acronym or saying that lists the order of the planets in our solar system, such as "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Peaches".

That old saying officially became outdated in 2006, when the final planet in that saying, Pluto, was officially declassified by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), and was thus no longer considered a planet.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter/YouTube

Fans Defend Sabrina Carpenter Once Again After New Video Sparks Backlash For Being Too 'Sexual'

When it comes to controversy, the heir apparent to "Queen of Pop" Madonna couldn't be clearer: Sabrina Carpenter.

Carpenter has repeatedly been at the center of the exact same angry debates we had four decades ago about Madonna: When a woman is overtly sexual in her work, is she liberating women or shackling them?

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Pope Leo
Radio Genoa

MAGA Melts Down After 'Woke' Pope Leo Urges The World To 'Search Always For Peace'

MAGA followers were not happy with Pope Leo XIV and accused him of being "woke" after he, in remarks to reporters, implored "people of good will" to "search always for peace."

The Pope spoke out after President Donald Trump insisted that God supports his war on Iran and declared—before a provisional ceasefire was announced—that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" ahead of a deadline to bomb Iran’s power plants and bridges that legal scholars and world leaders have said would constitute war crimes.

Keep ReadingShow less