Someone said to me a long time ago:
There are no stupid people, only people so afraid of looking stupid they don’t ask any questions.
So, I’d like to first acknowledge whomever asked this controversial question. While it may not be considered polite, at least they showed courage to ask in the first place – not always easy to do.
As for my own take on the matter, I think the easiest way to get over this particular intolerance is to clarify your personal metrics of “smart” and “stupid.”
For example, I myself have been told by people throughout my life that I am “smart”, and I have test scores, career success and other achievements that can speak toward that. Yet I also have done “not-smart” things like break my foot (simply by walking), forget family birthdays, and I constantly misinterpret my cat’s attempts to get me to feed him for affection.
I therefore can extrapolate that my “smart” metric merely applies to specific areas, and that itself is measurable as well amongst other people.
My “cooking” smart metric is higher than my husband’s by a factor of roughly 1000, for example
If you take a look at yourself, you may be able to apply this as well.
Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-get-over-my-low-tolerance-of-stupid-people
Originally Posted On: 2015-02-24