Suffering Fools

Being highly intelligent (and equally impatient), Sperbs aren't too keen on suffering the company of fools. We always want to learn, and logic dictates one learns best from those whose knowledge of a particular subject equals or exceeds his own. However Life (meaning school, work, waiting in line, etc.) makes sure we gets our recommended daily exposure to idiots, so it would be best to manage such a situation the the best benefit of all concerned.

Fools will talk, so you have three options: (1) tell the fool to shut up; (2) ignore the fool; (3) listen to the fool and try to learn something from him/her. The first one is quite rude and should only be used in extreme situations - especially if the fool is large and/or predisposed to violence. The second option is quite tempting, however there is a reason "ignore", "ignorance", and "ignoramus" all start with the same letters. As difficult as it may be to apply, the best option is the listen to the fool and try to learn.

Odds are you won't learn anything about the subject matter, but perhaps you can discover why this person is so lost as to the topic at hand. Should this happen, you will at least learn why this (and possibly many others) person is a fool. Offering help seems like the right thing to do, but unless you'll be working with this fool a lot, doing so will more than likely complicate things - especially for the fool. On rare occasions, fools may have an angle or insight on the topic at hand that you have never considered before - a new perspective is the most frequent source of difficult problem solving.

On the human side of the equation, it's also a good idea to listen to new people just to be a better person. Often when we're at a task, we forget the others involved are complete human beings rather than faceless helpers to be used for a purpose. People - fools as well as peers - as still people, and should be treated as such. Besides, there will be times when you are the fool of the group (new school, new job, first time trying a new activity, etc.) - and you'll appreciate being treated like a person when it happens.

Taking One's Own Advice

Remember back when I mentioned sometimes the best thing to say is nothing at all to keep one out of trouble? I'm rather encountering that now. All the immediate topics that have come to my mind have been already addressed at one point or another. By posting without a fresh topic in mind, I run the risk of redundancy (or worse, sayng the same thing in two different ways and confusing the heck out of you!)

Therefore, should you notice a few days missing here and there, it's because (a) my brain hurt like crazy, (b) no new topics came to mind, or (c) both. It certainly doesn't mean I have forgotten you or love you any less.

Stereotypes

Stereotypes are tempting for us Sperbs. Stereotyping allows for easily-pluggable, consistent factors to be entered into a human equation, thus allowing us to come that much closer to quantifying (our strength) variables in personal and emotional relations (our weakness). The big problem: Stereotypes are insulting, demeaning and dismissive to the individual being stereotyped.

I make it a point to avoid stereotypes - both using them and falling into them. I avoid using them because I have met too many people who are infinitely more interesting that the social stereotype of their subculture could ever give them credit. If my friends Steve or Brook or Amy can't be hammered into the round holes of their stereotypes, why would anybody else of their particular social subsets fit? I avoid falling into stereotypes because I like making people think (or re-think), and stereotypes are more "useful" for - and used by - the intellectually lazy and/or incurious than for us impatient, solution-hungry Sperbs.

How not to use them - think of everybody by their name. Remember that everybody has a family and a life history unique from all others. How not to fall into them - do things you want to do as often as the things that you have to do. Such variety will put so many spokes on your peg that no stereotyping hammer will be able to pound it through their round hole.

Perspective

If you find yourself at odds with somebody over a subjective topic, try looking at their stance from their perspective. Granted, this is difficult to do, especially for Sperbs. It takes us a long time to figure out that not everybody is as intelligent, organized, or specifically driven as we tend to be - then again, odds are very good we aren't as socially, physically or emotionally adept as they are.

There are other considerations such as gender, ethnicity/minority, economic standing, etc., that can affect a person's viewpoint that we may not even be able to appreciate, but giving it a fair try never hurts. (Of course, taking these factors into consideration should be done internally - verbally expressing "Well, since you're a poor black French muslim, I can understand your viewpoint" sounds - and is - quite bad.) You also want to avoid stereotyping, which I will address later, so this perspective thing is a nuanced art which can only be improved with practice.

Regardless, seeing other people's sides of an issue doesn't mean you have to agree with them, but it may help you understand why somebody you think is intelligent can sound so wrong on certain things.