15 Signs Someone is Fake Smart
Nothing inflates your ego more than the illusion that you're the smartest in the room. But in many cases, people pretend to be smart to feel special and mask their insecurities. These are 15 signs someone is faking being smart.
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Number one: They tell you their IQ. Stephen Hawking once said, “People who boast about their IQ are losers.” It's in the same realm of if you need to tell people you are the king, you're not really the king. The first thing a fake smart person does is to make everyone aware of their supposed intellect, even when no one asked or when it's not even related to the conversation. The only reason they do that is to establish superiority over others. They believe IQ is the only measure of someone's worth, so they'll go to great lengths to seem like they have a high one. They will casually slide it into the conversation like they didn't even notice, and if no one seems to care, they'll do it again until someone takes notice. In reality, there are no circumstances where knowing the IQ of someone is in any way relevant. But fake smart people will argue against that every single time.
Number two: They use all the buzzwords and jargon. You might hear a fake smart person say, “Due to the current precipitation event exhibiting characteristics consistent with liquid precipitation, it's advisable to utilize a portable device designed to provide protection from said precipitation, such as an umbrella,” which in normal speak people would say, “It's raining outside.” Fake smart people love to use technical language and jargon with every opportunity, and when no one understands what the heck they're saying, they'll dumb it down to ridiculous levels.
Number three: They give over complicated explanations to simple questions. Conversations with fake smart people have no end because they feel the need to overcomplicate everything. They use obscure references and convoluted language to talk about simple stuff like what brand of coffee they like most. They love going on unrelated tangents that only confuse those who are listening to them, and they take pride when no one understands them because in their eyes, that's a sign that others are not at their level.
Number four: They can't relate to people below them. Fake smart people believe they're built differently, like they're a different brand of humans, so it's only natural to hang out with people of their caliber. They feel like talking to people whom they consider below them is a chore and a waste of time, and they'll let those people know. They'll act patronizing and superior, making others feel small and unimportant. They'll speak over you, deny your claims with no backup, and be overall dicks.
Number five: They’re experts in everything. Fake smart people are experts in surface knowledge. They read all the headlines, so they believe they know everything. They've got really strong opinions and will quickly judge those who don't agree with them. They believe that if someone doesn't agree with them, it's because they're not educated enough to understand why their point of view is the correct one. There's an epidemic of surface knowledge that plagues the internet nowadays. Everyone thinks they're an expert in anything after like a five-minute Google search, but when you question them...
Number six: They get defensive when challenged. When a fake smart person has an argument with someone who's actually smart, they'll immediately go into defensive mode. They realize there's no way to fool them, so they start looking for ways out. They'll say things like, “Let's agree to disagree” or “I don't have time for this,” in the hopes the other person will leave them alone. They're very protective of their reputation of being smart, so any challenge to their authority feels like a direct attack.
Number seven: They annoy you when they can't win an argument. When these people have no way out of an argument, they resort to being as annoying as humanly possible. They'll hope you'll get too frustrated to continue the argument and leave, in which case they win by default. At the first sign of frustration on your part, they'll ask, “Why are you so mad about this?” in order to move away from the argument and focus on your frustration. In their minds, if you get frustrated, it means that you're wrong, in which case again, they win by default.
Number eight: They correct others over trivial mistakes. They're the annoying people who interrupt others just to pinpoint a trivial mistake that nobody cares about. You'll find them in the comments correcting the grammar of someone's fourth language when they can barely speak their only one. They also follow up with a condescending smiley face emoji so you're aware they caught you red-handed with their eagle eyes.
Number nine: They're impossible to argue with. Fake smart people don't have arguments; they just have discussions where they explain to you why they're right and you're wrong, and no amount of evidence or backup can change the situation. They have an arsenal of tools to detect any kind of argumentation to the point where you would rather talk to a wall than talk to them.
Number ten: They critique what they don't understand. When fake smart people have to deal with something they don't understand, their first reaction is to trash talk it. If they can't wrap their brains around what's happening, this means that what's happening is stupid and nobody should care about it. This usually happens when new tech comes around. Fake smart people don't understand it; they don't bother to look into it, but they will give you their unsolicited opinion on why it's actually really bad and nobody should ever use it.
Number eleven: They downplay the importance of things they're not aware of. If something hasn't come up on their biased feed, this means it's unimportant. They'll say things like, “Oh, I don't bother with that,” which translates to, “I've got no idea what you're talking about.” They will treat anything unfamiliar like it's unimportant. They will downplay any new thing they haven't formed an opinion about because they don't have a clear thinking process.
Number twelve: They can't explain their thinking process. It's really hard for fake smart individuals to explain their thinking process because they don't really have one. All their thoughts are regurgitated ideas from other people. They don't have an opinion of their own, but a remix of opinions from people who they think are actually smart, but they'll never admit to that. So if the people they look up to haven't expressed an opinion about a particular thing, well, they don't have one themselves either.
Number thirteen: They can't change their mind. These people lack introspection and analysis, and since their view of the world is not always their own, they cannot change their mind unless others do it first. They’ll straight up tell you things like, “Nothing you can say will ever change my mind.” These are the flat earthers who accidentally demonstrated that the Earth is not actually flat in that Netflix documentary. Do you think that changed their mind? Nope. It's ironic because not even they can change their own minds.
Number fourteen: They have huge egos. These people are really sensitive and pretentious. They usually have over-inflated egos, which makes them impulsive and loud. These people are your everyday Karens who feel entitled to talk to the manager because of the minor inconvenience. They have a main character energy they try to impose on all storylines as if they're the main character in everyone's movie.
And finally, number fifteen: They hold grudges. Since they're easily offended, they take everything personally. If someone makes them look dumb, they will hold the grudge for years. They'll never forget and they will never forgive. They'll start a personal vendetta to get back at the Starbucks cashier that didn't know that Elizabeth was spelled with an A, Y, and a double Z. They have a list of people who did them wrong and plan to get back at every single one of them.
So tell us, Aluxers, have you ever encountered someone who showed these signs? Let us know in the comments!
And as a thank you for watching this video until the very end, of course, we've got a bonus for you: they always want to be the smartest in the room. Fake smart people feel threatened by actual smart people, so they'll do their best to not be anywhere near them. They don't want any confrontation or challenges. If they feel like they're not the smartest in the room, they'll leave, quoting that most people are too arrogant and irritating, when in reality fake smart people simply don't know how to handle those brighter than them.
They can't adopt a learner's mentality and expand their views, so they would much rather stick to social circles where they are seen as prophets or something. They need to feel adored and respected by others to further inflate their ego. But it's not all bad news. Sometimes, people start with a skewed attitude toward their smartness only to realize they're not as smart as they thought, so they start hanging out with smarter people to expand their mind horizons, which is the best thing to do when you find you're lying to yourself all this time.
We hope you learned something valuable here today, Aluxers. And if this resonated with you, let us know in the comments. We'll see you back here again tomorrow.