Intellectual Yet Idiot

tommcginnis · Mar 8, 2019

nooby_mcnoob said:
Looks like I conflated threads. My apologies.

See?!?!?

I KNEW it was the other nooby mcnoob...... !!

(I crack me, and I hope you, up....!)

nooby_mcnoob · Mar 8, 2019

nooby_mcnoob said:
Looks like I conflated threads. My apologies.

I wanted to apologize immediately because I was so obviously wrong, and then reply once I had a minute to re-read.

So, let's refresh the concept of a IYI. The fundamental concept is one who is intellectual as defined by others like them, divorced from the impact of their decisions, and believes that their circularly defined intelligence (if you are one of us, you are intelligent) empowers them to have opinions on what Other People Should Do.

I don't think this is specific to economics, or any field in particular. I liked this podcast's treatment of elitism:

https://soundcloud.com/id%3Dbreakingmathpodcast%252F1-forbidden-formulas%3Btrack_id%3D306544161

.

If you re-read Taleb's chapter, which was written before the 2016 election, he predicted Trump's win, as did Michael Moore. And I think anti-Trump rhetoric has surfaced at least once on this thread which exactly proves his point. Take from that what you will, but these things go together and unless you understand them, you're just going to continue to talk at cross purposes with anyone who has a different viewpoint from you.

nooby_mcnoob · Mar 8, 2019

And look, I want to be clear, I was an outsider in the hedge fund. Even though I went to an elite school, I am the butcher-surgeon, I am not the soap opera surgeon.

But my heart fluttered a bit when I got this text recently from someone who is/was decently high up at the fund but a thoroughbred, unlike me:

ironchef · Mar 8, 2019

nooby_mcnoob said:
One characteristic of IYIs is that they put too much emphasis on what they know and not enough emphasis on what they don't know.

No offense, but you could actually be talking about @nooby_mcnoob.

nooby_mcnoob · Mar 8, 2019

ironchef said:
No offense, but you could actually be talking about @nooby_mcnoob.

Nah, I don't think I'm intelligent, hence the nickname "nooby_mcnoob". I am forever stupid, so I can learn better.

ironchef · Mar 8, 2019

nooby_mcnoob said:
Nah, I don't think I'm intelligent, hence the nickname "nooby_mcnoob". I am forever stupid, so I can learn better.

What you said in that post had nothing to do with intelligent sir.

nooby_mcnoob · Mar 8, 2019

ironchef said:
What you said in that post had nothing to do with intelligent sir.

Madam, I'll try to be more clear. How can I change this bit to make clear that I am talking about self-congratulatory intelligence being a major component of the IYI?

nooby_mcnoob said:
So, let's refresh the concept of a IYI. The fundamental concept is one who is intellectual as defined by others like them, divorced from the impact of their decisions, and believes that their circularly defined intelligence (if you are one of us, you are intelligent) empowers them to have opinions on what Other People Should Do.

nooby_mcnoob · Mar 8, 2019

Interesting post: https://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/how-to-beat-the-intellectual-yet-idiot/

I suppose I have such an aversion to IYIs as they are very prevalent in finance. Perhaps someone else in the field who does not fall under the IYI umbrella can confirm or deny.

Windlesham1 · Mar 9, 2019

Sig said:
Well better an educated fool than just a foolish fool, which makes up pretty much 100% of the anti-intellectual crowd. Taleb's a smart guy with some good points but an insufferable jackass with a pretty over-inflated view of himself which makes his books so much harder to wade through than they need to be (and I have waded through all of them). I find it especially rich that he writes a book about skin in the game for which he received an advance and took on virtually no risk for the performance of the book, don't you?

I thought it was me being thick- I've ground to a halt with Antirfragile but have read the others -good though

nooby_mcnoob · Mar 9, 2019

I can agree that he writes volumes on ideas that can be written in one page (like some others in this thread), but I don't think anyone would listen or buy it if he wasn't a great marketer as he is, and had not been successful using his philosophies.

Edit: sorry I thought that was a reply to me, but will leave up the response anyway.