Having studied people for decades as it was one of my job requirements to read and learn human behaviors I have concluded that smart people don’t think other people are stupid and that acting stupid is actually being smart. An avid student of life I try to find useful things and share them with others to make more sense to the crazy world we live and work in.
First off, there are not smart people or stupid people. The key words are “smart” and “stupid” as that appears to be an inference or an observation based on what you see rather than what you know about the person. People can either choose to be smart or play it dumb. Sometimes they do both and are the same person throughout the entire scenarios we are discussing.
Being smart means you have the capacity to think things thoroughly with a significant level of information or a complete analysis at hand to find an answer or to do something required based on a situational awareness. On the other hand, being stupid means you are avoiding the capacity to think things thoroughly with complete ignorance of the situation at hand and decide to either jump to conclusions or make irrational statements that have no connection to the situation at hand in a most deliberate format.
Either way these two actions appear to be a strategy of someone who could in fact be the same persons but making a deliberate and conscience decision to act one way or the other. How they acted was based on information available, provided or sought to make a response. There are always motives attached to the response and that’s the key to whether a person is perceived to be smart or stupid.
One can say something stupid and yet be seen to be smart because of the appeal the answer produced while on the other hand, one can be seen stupid because they chose to stop thinking about it and blurted an answer that is not appealing to the answer expected. While this may have exceptions to the rule, smart people normally feel that they don’t others are stupid but rather, they chose to act that way for deliberate and calculated reasons.
So what can make a person decide whether to act smart or stupid? In my opinion I think it has to do with the environment the question or situation is posed in or around. Whether they are social awkward, introverts or extroverts, they have a problem of being uneasy to be around certain types of people sometimes and act either defensively or offensively. The choice is based on the encounter, their past experiences and the level of comfort taken away by the other person or the environment. On the other hand they may be over confident in dealing with this issue and talk too much.
What kind of people can stifle or overtake conversations you ask. Socially awkward people do not respond very well to super outgoing people who like to socialize and mingle with the crowds. They may appear to be really confident popular and charismatic individuals that overwhelm others and cause them to shut down. Opposing such a feeling, it may trigger an outburst of your own confidence in you to show what you have to offer in your social circle.
Another group of individuals who may trigger your choice to act smart or stupid are those who you think may make fun of you or judge you without knowing you. Likely this is preempted by rumors or gossip about them and makes you aware of assumptions whether they are real or not. It may cause shyness or extreme belligerence depending on the approach or it can draw out an aggressiveness delivered in your own style of dealing with any potential “put downs.”
Then you have the elite group of people in power or authority who create a nervousness about them by just being there. High status positions such as doctors, lawyers, religious leaders, police officers etc. have power in social and community establishments. You may feel either scared or uneasy to talk to them so you limit your interaction based on your own fears. Some would call that as acting dumb or stupid to avoid being noticed.
Competition is always present when people meet. It’s an unwritten rule when two or more smart people meet they tend to show off their knowledge, competence and cause you to fear you may say something stupid around them even if they don’t call you out on the subject. Thus you avoid them at times to control your own fears. On the other hand, you competitive nature may cause you to strike preemptively and show them you are capable of hanging with them in equal form.
Summing up your relationships with other kinds of people who may impact your willingness to communicate are the tough thuggish types who intimate you because you either lack the experience around such kinds of people or you just think they are dangerous to talk to thus keep you words to a minimum. This includes rule breakers or criminals that reflect an impression you are either too innocent, nerdy or socially unacceptable to them as a group cause your mentality does not match theirs.
Finally, you may have trouble expressing or being yourself around people of your own gender. Hanging out with members of the same sex can and does create unwanted friction and you have an awareness whether you are being too different from them to create a level of animosity or resentment due to someone being too aggressive, unpredictable or just feel that way because of prior experiences as a kid.
Regardless, we all have different reasons for how we act and why we do the things we do. It’s human nature to react the way you feel and how you feel can only be determined by your own analysis of your life, your experiences, your upbringing, cultural influences and your social skills developed over the years. basically, it comes down to your own social biases and judgement of other people how you react when approached.
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