Are you arrogant?

[DiscoBiscuit]

Ow, key. Us entps and our tendency to go directly for the big picture impersonnal model you know

Indeed.

My pride and I had been squaring off for years.

The final battle had to happen sometime.

 

[Snuggletron]

I stumbled across this idea that more than 70% usually believe they are above the average in intelligence and all that.

I believe this, because most people are deluded.

 

[JocktheMotie]

Others may say I'm arrogant, I just think I have the appropriate level of self-confidence that is necessary to be successful in any field I participate in.

I tend to look down upon those who think they can't do things. They are a waste of time.

 

[Phantonym]

Are you arrogant?

Absolutely. I usually don't show it but it's there and it's unavoidable. I don't select people I associate with based on some arbitrary notion of something unreasonable but there's always some form of judgment going on at the back of my mind. I'm also arrogant about my tolerance for different people, ideas and opinions.

 

[Kra]

So I was looking through my psychology textbooks and I stumbled across this idea that more than 70% usually believe they are above the average in intelligence and all that.

Why not? When did believing you were below average ever accomplish anything?

I'm arrogant, but I'm also strategic... meaning I'm shady and unscrupulous.

 

[Alpha Prime]

Now I'm not talking about the openly-arrogant individual that goes around shouting about how much better they are in comparison to other people, but the more subtle forms which is reflected in statements like 1. "mass society is XYZ - I would not make that choice." or 2. perhaps even choosing to hang out with certain individuals. 3. One example: The idea of selecting friends, occasionally questioning friendships with people might be seen as being picky, and some could argue that this behaviour is being arrogant.

It all boils down to the context in which it occurrs.

1: It could be wise not to go with the mainstream. These are often the kind of people that are pioneers. I prefer this.

2: I strongly believe in being selective when it comes to choosing the people that you let surround you. In fact, I go as far as saying it's very stupid and unwise NOT to choose your surroundings. They affect you more than you can know. Especially when choosing your SO.

3: See 2.

There is a difference between arrogance, paranoia and choosing friends wisely. The wise do not befriend fools and one who looks at a fool without knowing is a fool himself.

Well said.

 

[JustHer]

But you never thought of double agents, did you.

Oh course not, but I am certain that my INTJs have

 

[d4mselfly]

Yes.

 

[Magic Poriferan]

I suppose in the sense of the OP I am a bit arrogant. I don't know how much it hurts or not. So far my beliefs have not become unquestionable to me and I'm still willing to try and politely explain things to people, so I think I'm still at a healthy level.

Really, I have far more problems with low self-esteem.

 

[highlander]

I don't think I'm arrogant. Actually I'm not even sure that the 70% who think they are above average are all arrogant either. Instead people have different ways of judging intelligence. Two people can look at each other and think the other person is dumb simply because the other person is incompetent in a way that they care a lot about.

For example an extravert might appear dumb to an introvert, because he says whatever he is thinking. Likewise the extravert might think the introvert is dumb, because he can't communicate as clearly. I'm not sure if this is arrogance, but if it is, the arrogance comes from a lack of understanding other people.

+1

This question got me to thinking - what does arrogance really mean and what causes it? A few snippets that I pulled:

"overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors"

"A person who thinks that he is always right, who acts as if he is superior to other people and who believes that he truly is better than other people"

"Arrogance Vs Over-confidence - self-confidence is about knowing your strengths and weaknesses while arrogance is thinking that you are invincible or at least trying to appear as if you are."

"Arrogance and Inferiority Complex - Sometimes the real reason for acting in an arrogant way is to hide one's own feeling of inferiority. A person who tries to give the impression that he's invincible may be hiding some kind of vulnerability that he is feeling."

"Religion and Arrogance - In most religions arrogance is considered a spiritual disease simply because thinking that you are superior means that you claim that you are the only one responsible for your success and so, implicitly denying the role of God."

So am I arrogant (or even over-confident)? I haven't felt this way for some time but in the past arrogant behavior used to bother me a little more than it should. Not a good sign - maybe I was. Even now, I can have pretty strong opinions though I put a lot more energy into collaborating and gaining the perspectives of others. On reflection, it is an adaptive behavior to gain involvement/support in implementing a direction people will agree with, and to prevent myself, or others, from making bad decisions.

In either case, the thought is a little unsettling - are you arrogant or confident? On the flip side, do you give in too much to the perspectives of others in the spirit of collaboration and compromise? Disturbing as well.

In the end, it is a balance and I'm not sure if you can tell if you are arrogant or over-confident. It may be easier for other people to tell that, or you find out the hard way.

 

[Quinlan]

I don't really bother to rank people, I think I can learn something from most people.

 

[GirlFromMars]

Now I'm not talking about the openly-arrogant individual that goes around shouting about how much better they are in comparison to other people, but the more subtle forms which is reflected in statements like "mass society is XYZ - I would not make that choice." or perhaps even choosing to hang out with certain individuals. One example: The idea of selecting friends, occasionally questioning friendships with people might be seen as being picky, and some could argue that this behaviour is being arrogant.

I've always thought there's no way I'm arrogant, but if this makes somebody arrogant, then yes I am.

 

[ThatGirl]

No, I just understand most things better than others...

So it appears arrogant when it is not.

 

[Queen Kat]

I'd rather call myself realistic.

 

[Afkan]

So I was looking through my psychology textbooks and I stumbled across this idea that more than 70% usually believe they are above the average in intelligence and all that.

When you say "above average in intelligence and all that" do you mean as in IQ ? Makes me think they may have been looking at other areas... above average in abilities? Above average generally, or in specific areas?

I think that egocentrism applies to all human beings. We are often blind to many of our areas of less ability, or overestimate abilities that do exist. However, egocentrism is a normal stage in child development. As we age egocentrism should at least decrease.

What does this mean then for individuals who indeed are above average intelligence? This group of individuals is how frequent? Isn't it 20% of the population?

Some individuals are just naturally more self-conscious in many areas. Are these individuals more intelligent on average than the % of pop. who are overconfident?

And to answer your original question, yes, I am arrogant.

 

[Eruca]

If I am very intelligent but believe I am not very intelligent, that makes me dellusional.

If I am very intelligent and believe I am very intelligent, that makes me arrogant.

Under these rules, a very intelligent person cannot win.

 

[nozflubber]

^ oooh, i likey!

The US is at war with Islam, and the US is not at war with Islam.

Logic is for mathematicians and philosophers and the birds, really.

 

[redacted]

I'm completely an arrogant asshole.

 

[Eruca]

^ oooh, i likey!

The US is at war with Islam, and the US is not at war with Islam.

Logic is for mathematicians and philosophers and the birds, really.

I do not understand. Are you making fun of my post? I do not know what you are even trying to say by your second sentence, let alone if it is logically valid or not.

 

[nozflubber]

no, on the contrary, being able to entertain 2 logically opposing things is the mark of an educated mind. I just like 1984 references too much, i suppose....

here's a more sincere one:

A photon is a wave.

A photon is a particle.

A wave is not a particle.

Q:What is a photon?

according to many in academia, feynman solved this dilemma, but there's still a lot of "metaphysical remainders" if you ask me, so it's still worthy of mentioning.

and as i was trying to point it and am trying to reemphasize with this post is that whether something is logically valid is a meaningless question to ask. a logician can not logically tell you what a photon is. Logic is for philosophers and mathematicians, not metaphysicists or thinkers.