Self-Reflection
Are You An Idiot?
If you don’t read or listen, you probably are
“Arguing with an idiot is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are, it will knock over all the pieces, crap on the board, then try to claim victory.” (Anon)
Do you ever read something and think, are you an idiot? Do you ever read something and wonder, do you know you’re an idiot?
Spend two minutes on Twitter and I guarantee you will screaming both of these questions.
Finding the right balance between listening to the views of others and being confident in your own is not easy. Everyone has something useful to offer because we each have different experiences, interests and areas of expertise.
We should definitely not assume that we possess the absolute truth. But at the same time, we should never feel like our views are not valid.
Of course, we don’t have to agree with what someone is saying to benefit from hearing their opinion. Listening to their crazy theories may help us look at the issue from a different angle, even if we vehemently oppose their conclusion.
What do you know?
To judge whether you are an idiot, we first need to define the term. Here is Calle 13 to help:
Un idiota es el que cree que todos son idiotas, menos él
An idiot is someone who thinks everyone else is an idiot. True ignorance is thinking we’re not ignorant.
I know that I know nothing (Socrates)
I know I know nothing. Therefore, I will learn some more. And once I’ve learnt that — will I then know something?
Knowledge is not a finite resource. We can — and should — keep learning until the day we die.
If we only hear from a few voices again and again we will have a blinkered view of the world. That’s why we should do our best to read as widely as possible and consider every opinion — however wild it may seem.
Is it me?
Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac? — George Carlin
The problem, as is so often the case, is that we measure everything against our biased perception of the world. Perspective is an inescapable part of being human: we each have our own particular way of considering our surroundings. We can liberate ourselves from a narrow-minded worldview by learning about other people’s experiences. But our innate filter will always remain.
We are naturally at the centre of our own world vision. We then compare our surroundings to our perceptions. For example, we judge if something is “normal”, “beautiful” or “moral” based on how we personally interpret these labels. Of course, our perceptions are determined to a large extent by our society, which makes the whole process a mutually-reinforcing cycle.
So are you an idiot?
If you’ve read this far, then chances are you’re not. Congratulations!
Generally speaking, people who listen and read more than they talk and write are the most open minded and empathetic. They allow other opinions to compete with their own. Often the challenger will lose and be rejected, but sometimes it will be adopted into their mindset. This could be to replace or supplement an underdeveloped piece of knowledge, or to fill a void where they was previously no understanding.
As Calle 13 says, the idiot never stops talking and the wise man listens out for the truth amidst his nonsense:
Aunque suene raro, a los idiotas los escucho… prefiero a un idiota que hable mucho y de todo lo que hable, alguna buena idea habré escuchado
It may seem strange but I listen to idiots… I prefer an idiot who talks a lot because it’s more likely there’ll be a good idea in what he says
I’m not a big player in the Illumination Community. I’m definitely not the person Charles Roast had in mind when he asked the top 20 writers to take part in his prompt. I’ve never even been curated.
But I do read. A lot. I have discovered dozens of outstanding writers on here.
So I’m going to take Charles’ prompt and twist it slightly: here are five MASSIVELY UNDERRATED WRITERS who deserve more reads:
And I would love to know your views on:
- How can we be confident in what we “know”?
- How can we ensure we’re not the idiots after all?
Daniel Clark is a reader, writer and linguist. Find out more here:
