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50 Pics Of Very “Smart” People Embarrassing Themselves That Will Stay On The Internet Forever (New Pics)
Interview With Expert
As Charles Bukowski famously said: “The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
Despite the fact that we have infinite knowledge at our fingertips with the internet, it appears that being online has only made some of us dumber. Or it has at least allowed us to showcase our stupidity in front of more people than ever before!
We took a trip to the I Am Very Smart subreddit and gathered some of their most hilarious posts down below. Enjoy scrolling through these examples of people believing they’re much smarter than they actually are, and keep reading to find a conversation with Scott Carter, CMHC!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Murdered By Words
#2
Show Me Your Words Per Minute And I'll Show You Mine
#3
Said He Had An IQ Of 150
To learn more about the phenomenon of people feeling the need to assert their intelligence online, we reached out to Clinical Mental Health Counselor Scott Carter, who was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda.
“I find that most people aren't nearly as aware or conscious of their own actions or behaviors as they ought to be,” Scott shared. “They assert themselves as experts, partially because they're failing to exercise sufficient enough awareness to realize that they aren't an expert, but it's more than a lack of awareness. It goes well beyond that.”
“Humans can easily be pulled into their own individual ego's need for superiority. People are always looking for ways to be better or look better than other people, but it's all rooted in the insecurities that they aren't willing to acknowledge,” the therapist continued.
#4
Clearly This Man Studies
#5
Ah Yes, *now* I Understand
#6
So Nerdy UwU
“Deep down, they feel inferior, and this can seem like an obvious way to overcome that inferiority when it's not. It's a misnomer. People compensate for their deep-rooted insecurity and inferiority in many ways,” Scott explained.
“It might seem like the solution to insecurity and inferiority is for others to view us as smart or having expertise but again, it's a misnomer. When you speak as an expert to things that you know nothing about, you only deepen your own inferiority because you're creating a greater dissonance between what you think you know or making it look like you know versus what you actually do know.”
#7
Ah Yes, Family Guy, The Smartest Show Yet Written
#8
Dude Claims He Settled For His Wife Because He Can’t “Find A Woman At His Level”
#9
This Was Their Response To "Treat Women Like People"
“But what else should we expect from a culture that is obsessed with hierarchies?” Scott asks, noting that status is everything these days. “Without status, we can't justifiably care about ourselves or see worth or value in ourselves, right? That's how it seems, anyway. Most of us fall for this illusion,” he continued. “That status equals importance, and importance equals respect and love. Making oneself look like an expert seems like an easy way to acquire status.”
#10
Not Mine, But Her Name's Not Maria
#11
Scary Fact: He's Delusional
#12
"I'm An Engineer"
Astro 10 months ago
“We’re so much smarter than the rest of you! According to us! Aren’t you impressed yet?” Humans are exhausting
hitex 10 months ago
Indeed! First post doesnt bother me - I often also identify my profession when topic involves relevant education/experience so others are aware I'm not just blowing smoke .... The 2nd one is why I don't like or associate with too many 'smart' folk
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Stephanie Did It 10 months ago (edited)
Having worked closely with engineers for some years, I agree that they think a lot, to the extent that they overthink most things and are completely obtuse about the rest. Design a bridge but can't put paper in a copier. Predict earthquakes but struggle to tie shoes so they wear loafers or Velcro shoes. You sort of have to part the fog to get their attention. Engineers are truly a different breed.
The Original Bruno 10 months ago (edited)
OP is correct on all points. And I'm NOT an engineer. Yeah, his response is rather rude, but he never said he was a civil engineer.
David 10 months ago
I want to see the pool being discussed. Perhaps they were discussing water flow in a wave pool or one of those stationary surfing pools. At least I hope so. In a regular pool the 'water velocity' is the same no matter the width or depth or which end you are at.
hitex 10 months ago
The engineering dork in me wants to analyze the pool too! Let's see it
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Quitethedilemma 10 months ago
"Bow before me, you small mindless beings." Enough with the self fellating. Yuck, dude get off it.
Giulia Fortunati 10 months ago
My SIL is not only an engineer, she's a university professor of engineering! She's the most arrogant person I know!
hitex 10 months ago
I find MDs frankly most arrogant...university educators, particularly in specialized field, close 2ns
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Moo 10 months ago
How much math and science do you really need to survive? You chose this career choice, too. I didn't. If anything, I find it quite smart I'm not doing a career that fries my brain. Instead I'm playing to my strengths. Math and science aren't the sole determinants of intelligence...but it's always what comes up
Dragons Exist 10 months ago
Exactly, like how many professions will I need y=5(9.5)^x
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hitex 10 months ago
My mechanical engineering class was 81% male, so I doubt there are many engineering twats, provided that I think a twat is a pu**y
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Lyoness 10 months ago
Why do so many people continue to believe IQ is an accurate measurement of intelligence? It's been proven to be massively biased towards white males and studies show there's no one test that can accurately predict intelligence. Check out this study: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iq-scores-not-accurate-marker-of-intelligence-study-shows/
Ophelia Vandergurgleduffen 10 months ago
Engineers sacrifice tact neurons to be able to store engineering knowledge. I have engineers in my family.
Madam Puddyfoot 10 months ago
My sister is a civil engineer. I asked her to help me build a little hand rail for two steps off my deck (since she's a civil engineer, and they build things...) and she said," IDK- ask an architect!" Oh, wow.
MP 10 months ago
You’re both wrong. That’s a GC or handyman job. Its step railing, you could even just buy it at Home Depot and install it yourself if you have tools
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Cindy Brick 9 months ago
Hey, my husband has two engineering degrees. Does that mean he's doubly genius?? (I am NOT going to show him this.
Nikki Sevven 9 months ago
Yes, you're so perfect that there has never been an engineering disaster in the history of the world in which it was the engineer's fault. /s
Animal lover 9 months ago
You can always tell an engineer, but you can't tell him anyone. Have you ever heard an engineer tell a joke.................I'm waiting......................Still waiting. Que cricket noise
WayoftheStarPrincess 10 months ago
Everytime something doesn't work easily, my grandma says "This must have been designed by an engineer, they never know what world ordinary people live in". It's also funny because a bunch of her grandkids are engineers (not me, I'm ordinary :P)
Hugh Crawford 10 months ago
An engineer asked me why the ups under his desk was beeping. Because it wasn't plugged in.
Dread Pirate Roberts 10 months ago
Ah, yes, you're only smart if you're an engineer. Because nothing else in the entire world requires intelligence or expertise 🙄
Cpt. Robert "Panda" Christian 10 months ago
Well, as a Firefighter/EMT, an "Engineer" was the rank I was promoted to after graduating from the Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator's Academy, during probation. Once off probation, I was promoted to Sergeant. So I wonder if I may tell people that I used to be an "Engineer"?
kansasmagic 10 months ago
You can always count on an engineer to give you a solution to a problem caused by an engineer. (For future reference, this works for doctors and lawyers too.)
Ponyo (they/them) 10 months ago
as an engineer, i know nothing. my memory is worse than that of a goldfish. iq scores mean nothing. as an adult, i regularly forget that metal can’t go in microwaves, how to do laundry, and just because something smells good doesn’t mean it tastes good. my work is trial and error. i rearrange stuff until something works. i can go from building robots to having to call my doctor because i decided to turn my stairs into a sledding hill in mere minutes. working in a homeless shelter, i met smarter people than the ones i met at engineering conventions. also education doesn’t equal intelligence. but remember that education is a privilege and a not so smart rich kid has a much better chance than a genius poor kid. a lot of rich white guys get through life without even trying and it can make someone quite obnoxious
The Darkest Timeline 10 months ago
Engineers have a terrible record when it comes to signing onto pseudoscience and have a hard time staying in their lane.
Szzone 10 months ago (edited)
This dude's tiring. This is the kind of person that thinks his engineering/IT education makes him "smarter" and "soft" sciences like economics, psychology, etc. are useless, and then goes agead and buys NFTs because he doesn't understand anything about anything, at all.
Awesome At Being Autistic 10 months ago
Okay both my dad and both my grandpas were engineers and they didn't even come close to this level of arrogance.
DC 10 months ago
I've seen countless stupid engineers, and even more that never stand up to some penny pincher to get the better solution greenlighted, but caved in to safe a few bucks in making a product, only to have it waste energy to cost even more within a timefrime of a tiny fraction of a usual period of operation. We're not all smart. Sometimes, it doesn't even matter.
Michael Largey 10 months ago
Let's see what happened here. Engineer offers professional opinion, explaining his basis. He is answered with some rude, derivative attempt at snarky humor. Engineer gets annoyed and foolishly spends more time on the jerk reply than it could ever deserve.
Lena Flising 10 months ago
I hope he doesn't watch The Big Bang Theory. If i remember correctly, the engineer in the group is the least educated of them (besides Penny, of course).
Chez2202 10 months ago
If a pool is getting deeper and wider at the back I wouldn’t want to swim midstream. I’d want to swim near the side so I had something to grab if I got tired or cramp. I’m not an engineer though. Maybe they can’t drown.
LizzieBoredom 10 months ago
"......allowing you to stay midstream regardless of how fast you're swimming". This doesn't sound right.
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Max Fox 10 months ago
That person isn't an engineer. First, engineers don't give a s**t about your "IQ". Can you solve real life problems? Second, "solving problems quickly" isn't something to brag about, when mistakes kill people. Engineers are super careful and will take their time, and then fo it over.
The Original Bruno 10 months ago
Hold up. The guy explained how he recognized the unrealistically drawn pool, and the OTHER guy attacked him for claiming to be an engineer. So then the "engineer" started defending engineers
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The therapist went on to note that people do tend to do this in real life as well, but it’s been accelerated by the internet. “There's a strange phenomenon in which the least qualified and most biased people are the loudest and most aggressive about their perspectives,” he told Bored Panda.
“It's not necessarily that they think they're an expert, it's that their lack of awareness prevents them from seeing that they should probably just say nothing. The ability to be anonymous on the internet though really emboldens some people,” Scott added. “The anonymity of the internet is so much safer, it gives people something to run and hide behind when things get messy.”
#13
Only The Truly Superior Minds Can Understand Italian
#14
My Man Can Count
#15
Guy On Facebook Whining Because His Words Are “Too Intellectual" For People To Understand
"Disembodied voice" 10 months ago
I'm not saying dumb down or talk down to people but it is a skill to be able to communicate differently so people can understand you
Scott went on to note that he’s spoken to many young people who have built and engineered an entirely different identity for themselves online. “They can easily lie about their age, their money, their status and anything else like expertise with little or no consequence,” he shared.
“If you remove accountability and consequences, it emboldens people to do some really nasty things and there isn't much nastier than deception. They are seeking status, and they are sometimes willing to say or do whatever is necessary to get there.”
#16
They Only Teach One Thing In Business Schools
#17
Elon Musk Is Too Smart For Chess
#18
I Didn't Reject The Trad Life, The Trad Life Rejected Me
Angeldust McQuade 10 months ago
When someone brags that they’ve had a lot of sex, I believe they have not had any.
We also asked the expert if he had any advice for people who feel the need to prove their intelligence online. “Each person should learn to ask themselves, honestly, if they have any ability to speak about an event or an issue, and they should also examine whether or not they have any experience with that situation,” Scott shared.
“When the conflict in Israel popped up recently, I saw a meme that said, ‘I'm no longer an expert on Ukraine because now I'm an expert about Israel,’ which I thought was incredibly accurate,” he continued. “I have no doubt that many of the people who have been vocal about these issues could find these places on a map. But everything that I've suggested so far still requires some awareness and insight which has become a rare and precious commodity these days. We first have to ask people to look at themselves, honestly, in the mirror.”
#19
Will Anyone Finally Date This Intellectual?
#20
And Then Everyone Clapped
#21
"Silly Woman, You Can't Use Mathematical Terms Figuratively!"
Lauren S 10 months ago
Am I silly that exponentially makes perfect sense to me? It’s not a 1:1 relationship like 5 more girls than boys… it’s like five times the amount of girls than boys…which isn’t even, gosh idk. I realize I sound like these douches but my little brain has been out of school too long. How about I end with her phrase provides a more accurate picture of the discrepancy. Nah… still douchey… sorry!
Scott also wants people to accept that it's okay to not know everything. “It's okay to say you don't know, and it's okay to shut up and listen to those who know about it,” he shared. “It's okay to yield to the experts. It doesn't make you less of a person. In fact, admitting that you don't know and you're there to listen and learn is the real strength and the real virtue.”
“The bottom line piece of advice is simply this: For people to practice their own awareness and be honest with themselves,” the therapist noted. “Become more conscious and more aware of your actions, don't just mindlessly do whatever and don't just follow any and every impulse that pops up. Learn how to be more intentional and deliberate about your actions and learn to ask yourself the hard questions. ‘Am I one of those people? Should I take a step back here? Do I really know what I'm talking about?’”
#22
Me Just Trying To Help A Customer On Our Website Chat Today
#23
Internally Rolling My Eyes
#24
Ruining Friendships With Facts And Logic
“Intelligence doesn't mean that you know everything. In fact, the most intelligent people that I've known have realized that they know next to nothing and aren't afraid to admit it,” Scott added. “Now that's being smart. The smartest people are also the people who exercise their awareness. Being aware of one's own actions is a sign of true intelligence. A truly intelligent person freely admits when they don't know something.”
#25
Guy Talking About His Experience With Women
lfc73 10 months ago
I think, perhaps, if you were to be a bit less of a phantom-snob, and simply enjoyed talking to someone about these fascinating facts, you may have more luck. Instead of being a brash, faux erudite, simply be curious, and respectful about others' experiences. Also, don't be a wanker. It's common sense & common decency, really.
#26
You Cant Make This Stuff Up
#27
Good In Math = Better Human
Are you feeling much smarter after scrolling through this list, pandas? Even if you don’t know much more than these people, at least you know not to broadcast your stupidity online! Keep upvoting the pics that give you secondhand embarrassment, and then if you’re interested in checking out even more photos from I Am Very Smart, you can find Bored Panda’s last article featuring the group right here!
#28
He Was Saying That Women Inherently Had Lower IQs And This Was His Response To Me Calling IQ Tests Pseudoscience
#29
A Real Baby Genius
#30
Even Plugged The Autobiography
#31
Pretty Sure Most People Got The Reference...
#32
This Guy Definitely Thinks He’s Will Graham (Hannibal)
#33
Trying To Appear Smart By Being A D**k To His Mom On FB
#34
Laughing In The Face Of A Vengeful God
#35
Enjoying Music Is For Stupid People
#36
Look, I Know Words
#37
"I Am The Smartest Person I Know Of"
#38
Xray Vision
#39
King Ashurbanipal Of Assyria (685 Bc - 631 Bc)
#40
Not Just A Genius But A Model As Well
#41
Too Big Brain For Tinder
#42
On A Meme About Getting Better Grades On Online Tests
#43
“I Realised How Much Of A Nerd I Am”
#44
Looks Like He Didn't Understand The Assignment
#45
On A Reel About Einstein Blah Blah Blah
Roxy222uk 10 months ago
Being 14 is hard and brings out the d.i.c.k. in many, so I am willing to let that slide for now (I believe a lot of people don't realise the d.i.c.k.ish things they did as a teenager, because of the lack of a big picture at that age). However it is very much something people should grow out of.
#46
This Quora 13 Year Old
#47
Wish Him Good Luck Guys
#48
Better Remind Everyone Of My Phd On A Video That Visualizes The Pythagorean Theorem
#49
Tired Of The Cycles Of Life
Add New Image
What do you think ?
General Anaesthesia 10 months ago
The person who thought injecting "Bored Panda recommends" into just about every comment thread should fired "for reason". Way to ruin the flow, BP.
Multa Nocte 10 months ago
Thank you! It is so annoying, distracting, and overstimulating. I may have to take off several weeks just to clear my brain.
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Rayne OfSalt 10 months ago
I managed to get through the whole thing, but holy gods do I need a lie down now.
Delenn 10 months ago
I had to leave it, my head hurts from all the cringe this post generate
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Pittsburgh rare 10 months ago
I don't know what my QI is. I don't even need to know. I'm dumb af. I forget to do things WHILE I'm doing them. And somehow, I'm not as dumb as half the people in this list.
Kristal 10 months ago
Where is everyone getting these IQ tests w***y nilly?! I'm considered intelligent but I have no flipping clue what my IQ is cause the official test is an annoying process and costs money. Are they using free quiz type IQ test they find on Google or something? I know they are lying about even taking it but, I mean, who actually takes IQ tests as an adult? Hmm maybe people that want to get into Mensa?
JB 10 months ago
Shame-faced reply. My ex-husband and I paid to take a Stanford-Binet test online as a bet to determine who was more intelligent. We had researched IQ testing and figured Mensa is actually designed to pull folks in by telling them they are smarter than they really are. He took the test sober and very focused. I took the same test a wee bit drunk because I wasn’t taking the bet seriously. I scored 10 points higher; he didn’t talk to me for a week. In theory, I’m a genius. In practice, there’s so much I know I don’t know, I feel like an idiot crawling through endless grey.
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Chihuahua Mama 10 months ago
I only got halfway through these. I had to stop for fear that my face would get stuck in a permanent cringe
J He/Him/They/Them/We/Us/I/Me 9 months ago
there’s this interesting graph called the dunning krueger effect, and i think it illustrates these situations well.
Michael Largey 10 months ago
The only valid measure of your intelligence is what you accomplish with it.
Robert Benson 10 months ago
Smart people are not immune to arrogance. People of many intelligence levels feel the need to try to put others down. But there are a lot fewer people who are both arrogant and highly intelligent, than those who are simply arrogant. :(
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detective miller's hat 10 months ago
People who feel the need to mention their IQ tend to be morons.
The Darkest Timeline 10 months ago
Bragging about having a high IQ - even if it is, in fact, high - is thoroughly unimpressive. Who cares? Plenty of highly intelligent people never do anything meaningful in life because they don’t develop social skills or can’t complete a task or think they’re above doing anything they arrogantly deem “menial.” It’s like bragging about being a Christian: if you have to tell me you are one, it isn’t apparent through your behavior.
greenideas 10 months ago
Some people are so smart that they're stupid. If I ever had kids, I wouldn't want them to be at any IQ extreme.
Flora Porter 10 months ago
A lot of these seem to confuse superficial theoretical knowledge with a muscular intellect. Maybe they'll find out as they grow up.
General Anaesthesia 10 months ago
The person who thought injecting "Bored Panda recommends" into just about every comment thread should fired "for reason". Way to ruin the flow, BP.
Multa Nocte 10 months ago
Thank you! It is so annoying, distracting, and overstimulating. I may have to take off several weeks just to clear my brain.
Load More Replies... Rayne OfSalt 10 months ago
I managed to get through the whole thing, but holy gods do I need a lie down now.
Delenn 10 months ago
I had to leave it, my head hurts from all the cringe this post generate
Load More Replies... Pittsburgh rare 10 months ago
I don't know what my QI is. I don't even need to know. I'm dumb af. I forget to do things WHILE I'm doing them. And somehow, I'm not as dumb as half the people in this list.
Kristal 10 months ago
Where is everyone getting these IQ tests w***y nilly?! I'm considered intelligent but I have no flipping clue what my IQ is cause the official test is an annoying process and costs money. Are they using free quiz type IQ test they find on Google or something? I know they are lying about even taking it but, I mean, who actually takes IQ tests as an adult? Hmm maybe people that want to get into Mensa?
JB 10 months ago
Shame-faced reply. My ex-husband and I paid to take a Stanford-Binet test online as a bet to determine who was more intelligent. We had researched IQ testing and figured Mensa is actually designed to pull folks in by telling them they are smarter than they really are. He took the test sober and very focused. I took the same test a wee bit drunk because I wasn’t taking the bet seriously. I scored 10 points higher; he didn’t talk to me for a week. In theory, I’m a genius. In practice, there’s so much I know I don’t know, I feel like an idiot crawling through endless grey.
Load More Replies... Chihuahua Mama 10 months ago
I only got halfway through these. I had to stop for fear that my face would get stuck in a permanent cringe
J He/Him/They/Them/We/Us/I/Me 9 months ago
there’s this interesting graph called the dunning krueger effect, and i think it illustrates these situations well.
Michael Largey 10 months ago
The only valid measure of your intelligence is what you accomplish with it.
Robert Benson 10 months ago
Smart people are not immune to arrogance. People of many intelligence levels feel the need to try to put others down. But there are a lot fewer people who are both arrogant and highly intelligent, than those who are simply arrogant. :(
Load More Replies... detective miller's hat 10 months ago
People who feel the need to mention their IQ tend to be morons.
The Darkest Timeline 10 months ago
Bragging about having a high IQ - even if it is, in fact, high - is thoroughly unimpressive. Who cares? Plenty of highly intelligent people never do anything meaningful in life because they don’t develop social skills or can’t complete a task or think they’re above doing anything they arrogantly deem “menial.” It’s like bragging about being a Christian: if you have to tell me you are one, it isn’t apparent through your behavior.
greenideas 10 months ago
Some people are so smart that they're stupid. If I ever had kids, I wouldn't want them to be at any IQ extreme.
Flora Porter 10 months ago
A lot of these seem to confuse superficial theoretical knowledge with a muscular intellect. Maybe they'll find out as they grow up.
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