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“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt”
It’s an old saying of dubious origins (though there’s a much older Bible verse along the same lines) about the real difference between looking dumb and being dumb.
But enough with the old, let’s get with the times. Let’s go to Reddit.
what is a smart thing that looks dumb?
byu/nicewiz inAskReddit
What does the internet think looks dumb while being wicked smart? Let’s find out.
1. Wearing hearing protection
I have tinnitus. I don’t want it to get worse so I actually bought a little thing looks like a pill container that is on my keys that has earplugs in it.
F**k loud music. Concerts, bars, even some churches. They all have their music way too loud.
– Dangerclose101
2. Calling out an insult
Insults are often in the form of jokes and are seen as acceptable because they are funny, even though they are hurtful. Jokes are never funny once you explain them and without that wrapper the person looks petty and nasty.
It is also a power play on behalf of the person who has been insulted, if they ask the person who has attacked them to do something and the attacker does it, that puts the person who has been attacked in the socially superior position.
Finally, it is a really awkward thing to do to get someone to justify themselves like that, it will make the person who made the insult really uncomfortable. This is all assuming there are other people present, it doesn’t work nearly as well if it is on a one to one basis, you want the social pressure of the person for best effect.
– Crypt0Nihilist
3. Wearing a fanny pack
I still feel bad to this day but got to know an American tourist in Paris and he had his passport and money in a pouch around his neck.. I said that was dumb.
He put it in his back pocket with the strings out.. I saw it, thought that was even worse.. (but was a little drunk) And jup it got stolen.. That was his first night in Europe.. (I did help him along, we were in the same hostel).
– mitchw87
4. Shooting basketballs overhand always
One thing that everyone leaves out is that shooting free throws overhand is a great way to practice your normal shooting technique.
Granny style is only useful on the line, but shooting overhand is working two skills at once. It’s more time efficient practice.
– Gibbelton
5. Camo gear
There’s a picture of Prince Harry that circles the internet with him in Full rig (camouflage uniform) whilst also wearing a high vis fluescent jacket. with the caption ” do you want to be hidden or seen? ” like he’s an idiot. He flew Apaches for the Air Core.
i used to be ground crew for UAV’s in the army …. people don’t realise we have to wear high vis jackets on airfields. for obvious reasons.
– Sparkski
6. Showing emotion during an argument
it shows you’re passionate about the topic. I don’t get all of the “Oh ur mad lol” comments people use when arguing, like of course I’m mad I care a lot about what I’m talking about
– Ragingbull444
7. Wearing a retainer
Keep those teeth straight! Braces probably cost a few thousand dollars and year or longer of mouth pain or at the very least annoyance.
– ProductivityMonster
8. Keeping quiet around cops
Every question they ask is a step towards getting you on something. So if you are not doing anything let them investigate silence.
Advise them are you going to use your 5th amendment right and stay silent.
– LaughableIKR
9. Putting armor on a plane where there were no bullet holes
I forget his name but, he was brought a set of planes to examine in I believe WW2 and he said to put armor only where no holes were.
People questioned him on this but he reasoned that there were no bullet holes in that area because if there were the plane wouldn’t have made it back.
– CGI42
10. Crocs
Yeah, I know 90% of people find them hideous & honestly I pretty much do too, unless they have a design that disguises what they are, but most people wear them to avoid pain & they help those people.
I’ve tried every other shoe out there & always wind up going back to them rather than being in pain.
– lefthandbunny
11. Shutting up
Sometimes it’s better to just not say anything but it makes you look like you’re not because you lack the information
– [deleted user]
12. Reducing bandwidth
There’s a concept in Urban Development called “Induced Demand”. It’s the theory that widening a highway and adding lanes actually makes traffic worse because people will assume traffic is better, and because it increases dependence on the highway itself.
So inversely, reducing lanes can theoretically improve traffic, in time. Yet time and time again highways in North America are widened, and traffic eventually becomes worse than ever
– DustedThrusters
13. Not being defensive
Smart people know how to filter useful information, but also know that they can learn from anyone.
I learnt this from watching a mentor of mine – somebody was giving him waaaay to much crap, and he sat there neutrally saying “OK”. I started getting defensive for him, but he stopped me and later explained that he wouldn’t concern himself about the insults or the unnecessary criticism, but he had generated learnings from it anyway.
It’s an extraordinarily difficult skill to master – but he did it so well.
– shinjisamasan
14. Wearing hats
I keep my hair very short and I have fair complexion, so without headwear my scalp gets burned on sunny days.
But wearing a cap as a 30+ man makes me often look like a man-child.
– BoOtto
15. Simple writing
Writing actively with brevity in mind. Seriously, take any public writing course. You will read sentences that look so simple but it takes significant effort to write simply without missing details.
Here’s an example:
“If I think about it just for a moment, I find the way my cat vigorously licks its a**hole is kind of humorous.” Sounds intelligent, right? Not really.
“I think the way my cat licks its a**hole funny.” Looks stupid, right? Yeah, but it says the same exact thing and the message is more clear.
– Kcb1986
I think we’re all a lot wiser now.
What’s something you would add to this list?
Tell us in the comments.
