One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone asserts something to be true when it isn't, or just generally tries to impress you with intelligence they do not possess. You've seen these people - they use words that they don't understand, they attempt to correct others when in fact the original person was right all along, etc. A favorite example of these half-wits is pointing out that Rhode Island is not, in fact, an island, and isn't that a funny name for a state?
Except that, you know, Rhode Island is an island. The state in question is actually named Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and is the result of a merger of the former colonies of (logically enough) Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
It probably wouldn't be so annoying except that the people who engage in such behavior do so in such a smarmy, smug, arrogant way. They don't say these thing to contribute to conversation, but only in an attempt to impress.
Am I alone on this? Does it annoy anyone else when people try to sound intelligent when they really don't know what they're saying?
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When I was in grad school, I ran into the exact opposite sort of person. You know, the sweet, unpretentious people who are so naturally brilliant and well-read that their casual conversations are sprinkled with gigantic words (used correctly) and literary references. While the half-wits are obnoxious, these full-wits (wits?) make me feel really bad about myself.
ReplyDeleteTo hell with the lot of them! We need to unite against the smart- and dumb-asses of the world!
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