meritocrat

Generally speaking, can't intelligence or wisdom be considered virtues?

If so, why is intelligence viewed in a pejorative context in society?

Anachronix

Sometimes you will find that highly intelligent people are lacking somewhat in social skills. A reduced capacity to deal with people can lead to unease and subsequently terseness. That unease and terseness is often confused with rudeness and intellectual snobbery.

Once someone has been the 'victim' of that unease, they might apply the same rules to all people they view as having increased intelligence.

Brahma's atheist

Unfortunately stupidity is cooler than being intelligent. Being the lowest common denominator is the in thing.

mongrel

I remember being at high school feeling that this same sort of false sense of "coolness" was inversely proportional to academic achievment. I started off always being amongst the top four or five in every subject(except home ec. ), but finishing high school in the lower third. I didn't try to succeed after a while because I wanted to be one of the "cool kids".

I now realise how ridiculously stupid this idea is. Also, now I have an extremely hard time committing myself to studying anything, now, which I put down to my attitude towards high school- I think it became ingrained in me.

Anachronix

Welcome to my life buddy...I have the intellect to finish almost any task very quickly, and do it well, but sitting down and getting started is very hard. Part of that may be due to the fact I had/have minor ADD, but for the most part I believe it has become my psyche.

mongrel

I've often wondered whether I have a minor case of ADD. Never been tested for it, though. But still, I don't want to know, really- it would just give me another excuse. Frankly, when I was at high school and my homework load started to build, my results started going down. I'm not sure I could blame ADD for that too easily. Too much socialising to be done...and telly to be watched...and too hard to get off my arse...and so on.

Hey, welcome to IIDB, BTW!

Eudaimonist

On the other hand, it could simply be that people can have their pride hurt when another has an advantage due to the genetic lottery, and so they seek the emotional comfort of the lowest common denominator. So, it could be a result of envy, or what Ayn Rand calls "hatred of the good for being the good".

Kim o' the Concrete Jungle

Because people who are idiots don't like being outstripped by people who are not.

It has nothing to do with the alleged "benefits" of being dirt-dumb, or the alleged "weaknesses" of being intelligent. It's politics, pure and simple. There is no other reason.

Feather

This accurately reflects my observations. I have the hardest time making conversation, friends, and participating socially in general with people outside my field (grad. school at the moment), because the things that interest me (stuff related to my field) are often mistaken by others as pretentious and arrogant.

I often mumble or try and avoid mentioning what I do when people ask, because it's my experience that once the cat's out of the bag people are hesitant to talk with me afterward.

At first I thought I may have been assuming an arrogant "air" about me when I engaged in such conversation and so I paid close attention for future reference. Turns out most people are just turned off by people interested in (and moderately skilled at) subjects that are considered "intellectual."

Ah well. Books and the imagination are my friends.

Loren Pechtel

It's easier to tear the other guy down than to build yourself up and either action will bring you to their level.