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this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2026
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a funny thing happens once your education and intellectual levels reach a certain point. you just get sick of dealing with everyone's shit.
Imagine being stuck in a room full of rude 5th graders that keep telling you that you're wrong about the things you studied for half your life. now imagine you've been stuck in that room with a rotating selection of rude 5th graders for decades.
would you be nice to them?
People who say unprompted that they have a PhD as proof of their intelligence probably don’t, and most likely don’t spend much time dealing with PhDs either.
why shouldn't they promote their state of education to relay their level of comprehension and intellect? they worked hard for it. it's not like they hand them out to everybody.
the use didn't even use it as a power move, simply said it as a way to reject idiots from challenging their statements.
that's the real shame here, but I get it. that's why when idiots often open their mouths I have zero inclination to correct them.
you can fix ugly, you can fix ignorance, but you can't fix stupid.
People with PhDs generally have a deep understanding of a narrow subject. And outside of that narrow scope, some of them do things like try to fill a bucket with more water by extending it at the top with cardboard. And that type are the most likely to compensate for their other inadequacies by relying on their academic achievement.
In my experience the people with PhDs whose intellects I have the most respect for are the ones I'm least likely to hear about their doctorate from. It's not a marker for comprehension and intellect, it's a marker for obsessive perseverance and interest in an academic field, plus an ability to write technical language in that field.
You're much nicer, and a lot less asshole-ish, than I am at walking through this topic. May I learn from you the next time I feel the need to call it out. Anyway here's a cool illustration of how getting a PhD works that succinctly frames this concept in my opinion:
https://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/
Dude you don't have to white knight for the douchey PhD guy. Saying shit like that, even if you are really super duper smart, is incredibly arrogant. People that say shit like, "I'm super smart and you're super dumb and I have a piece of paper to prove how super smart I am." Are gigantic douche bags. It ranks up there with, "I have a huge IQ." In levels of douche-dom. In fact, the more I think about it the more I think this is some shit that Trump would say. Just outrageously, fart smellingly, douchey.
So no I'm not gonna imagine the scenario where you somehow think I'm a 5th grader and you and PhD guy are the only super smart people on the entire internet. Not only is it a douchey thing to say, but also would make me a douche, and I really don't wanna be a douche.
not white knighting. it's just personal experience.
you clearly have no idea how draining it can be to deal with idiots. the mental fatigue alone is depressing.
besides they didn't say you were stupid, they said they are free to make you feel stupid. you clearly are dealing with some feelings of inadequacy and felt threatened by that statement.
I have multiple pieces of paper that say I'm smart too. Some of those pieces of paper are even college ruled! I also have been on the internet since you had to make funny phone sounds to log on. I don't think I've ever been like (in my best nasally Ben Shapiro voice), "Everyone is stupid and a 5th grader. Also I'm smart so I don't want to deal with stupid people cause you're all stupid." I don't think it's helpful, it's thought terminating, and is often said by people that are super wrong and they say it so they won't be challenged.
I'm just a guy here challenging those douches and you gotta come in here and try to white knight for them. I seriously don't get it unless...
Totally got me pegged on that huh? Not projecting in the slightest are we? Maybe I just think douchebags should be called out so they stop being douchey? But maybe you're right and it was a personal challenge to PhD guy and you had to come along and ruin it. I guess we'll never know now will we?
the irony is, I'm doing the same thing.