whims

intellectual arrogance

Arrogance is a character trait up with which I will not put. (and then who says prepositions can't go at the end?? hmmmm??) Really of all sorts. It's annoying and often a roadblock to getting things done. I've seen pride ruin relationships, opportunities, and conversations. People often think of arrogance in general terms and arrogance in terms of intellect is often left uninvestigated. I was reading a *ahem* facebook comment of a photo...golly...and was struck by the language one guy used. At first, it impressed me. He was eloquent and employed complex sentence structure...then I asked myself why I don't write like that and realized that I don't try to. I never have. In fact, until I went to Italy and took a class from a English teacher so enthralled by English that she inspired me, I thought elegant language unnecessary, something that clouds the meaning of statement with unnecessary bulk. I have changed my mind slightly and enjoy the nuances of language now. But, I still maintain that bombastic language used only for effect and not to enhance the meaning or readability of a text should not be used. By no means do I think that facebook message writer was out of line with his message, but it did bring to light the intellectual arrogance of a lot of smart people.

I find that a lot of smart people are open to new ideas and people from a variety of backgrounds...at least the ones I hang around. But, I've heard so many intellectuals come down on "normal folk," people who don't spend their days reading the newspaper, or even a book. Now, I agree that apathy and inaction caused by things other than newspapers or books is a huge problem, especially in the USA, and could be alleviated a bit if people unplugged themselves from the "boob tube", but to maintain that one lifestyle is inherently better than another lifestyle seems a little...hmm, arrogant. Still, comparing lifestyle choices is better than comparing given traits, such as intelligence. People often complain about the obsession with the physical. How dare we tell someone who's born a certain way they're not good enough? How dare we tell them they aren't pretty! They were born that way........so.........if we don't like judging each other based on physical traits we can't control, why would we condone judging people on mental traits we can't control? Some people are born with a higher IQ and they didn't do anything to deserve it...some weren't. I understand that intelligence affects social interaction, but intellectual arrogance is more than not wanting to interact with someone, it's thinking you're better. Comments like, "There were only two smart people in the class/group/school/board/etc.," not not demean those excluded by the statement, but also give them no chance to prove themselves. As my middle school stressed to me, there are many forms of intelligence and I'll bet those "non-smart people" would kick most intellectuals' asses if compared in other ways.

So basically what I'm saying is that intellectual arrogance pisses me off. Break it down people, you're just a human. If you can say you're human above a race, a sex, a religion, a nationality, or any other affiliation, then you should be able to say you're a human before a smart person, hell there's not even a noun for that one.

posted by Marielly @ 11:35 AM