17 People Reveal The Disadvantages Of Being Smart

5. Athena Ponce

In certain settings, a smart person likely has to adjust their personality and manner of speaking because if they use their normal vocabulary and speak about their typical interests, they will sound like a pretentious know-it-all. Having to change oneself to be socially acceptable can be very painful, I imagine, because there’s an implicit fear of rejection and humiliation from being seen as a weird nerd who seems to consider themselves better than others (but very possibly does not).

Also, in conversations, people frequently say things that are factually or conceptually incorrect. That’s just typical conversation, since nobody knows everything. But a highly intelligent person may actually know the correct facts and concepts being discussed, and they could sound like a jerk for correcting others, which can be embarrassing for the one being corrected and result in anger or resentment.

6. Giulio Talamini

Advantages

Being Smart can be an advantage if combined with the following qualities:

1. Self-acceptance: Intelligence is not to make no mistakes, but to see quickly how to make them good (Bertolt Brecht)

2. Beyond one quality: Cleverness is not wisdom (Euripides)

3. Not taking yourself too seriously: I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I’m saying (Oscar Wilde)

4. Modesty: It is not that I’m so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer. (Albert Einstein)

5. Kindness: A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special (Nelson Mandela)

Disadvantages

But:

Being smart is only a trait of a person…And dwelling only upon this unique feature in a person can be a big disadvantage

There is an Albert Einstein’s quote which I literally love:

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”

.sguHhgU@ :mih wolloF .golataC thguohT ta recudorP a si leahciM

Keep up with hoK on Twitter and thoughtcatalog.com

More From Thought Catalog