19
Are there more pejorative and disparaging sayings about people who actually know things than about people who pretend to know things? (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 months ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
9 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I’m talking about derogatory terms like “nerd,” “geek,” “wise-ass,” and so on, as well as sayings like “nobody likes a smart aleck.”

It seems to me that these terms and expressions are used much more frequently in the business world than derogatory terms like “show-off,” “charlatan,” “fraud,” and so on.

I can’t even think of a commonly used saying for the latter. Only: “Fake it till you make it,” which is really more of a reinforcement of the idea that knowledge isn’t very valuable.

Is it just my impression?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 2 points 3 months ago (1 child)

I'd have to guess a majority of people know what they are talking about, or they don't.

Pretending to know something just makes you a liar.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] [S] 1 point 3 months ago

    Yeah, sure, but I get the impression that these people are rarely referred to as such. Then again, maybe that’s just my impression.

    Just today I had a meeting with a whole delegation of management consultants: three highly paid people, and they all kept throwing out one buzzword after another. When I asked for clarification or rather for detail, however, it quickly became clear that not a single one of them had even a basic understanding of what they were talking about.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent