This is the part 3 and final post in the "Little things that people do that make you question their intelligence" series. You can check out Part I here and Part II here.
If you enjoyed this series do let me know what kind of series posts you would like to see me do in the future. I am always happy to receive feedback and suggestions.
Now, without further adieu, let me talk about three more things that people do that make you go ...ugh!!
Consistently Misuse Phrases
Words are powerful things that often leave a lasting impression on those with whom we interact. And when we hear someone using phrases incorrectly, we obviously question their intelligence or education, right?
And I'm pretty sure that all of us know or have met someone who have misused phrases and idioms to the point of us getting an impression that they were doing it on purpose. Such people are super annoying!
Take for example one of the oft misused idiom 'bearer of bad news' which literally means someone who delivers bad news. But instead of saying 'bearer' quite a lot of people say 'barrier' and sometimes even after being corrected.
Imagine someone walking up to you and saying 'I hate to be the barrier of bad news but uh...'. I'm pretty sure if you know your phrases correctly you wouldn't care about the bad news and the first thing you would say is 'what barrier?'.
Be An Anti-Vaxxer
Anti-vaxxers are conspiracy theory subcultists who blame the medical practice of vaccination for a wide range of health problems and for literally everything that's wrong in today's world.
These people have no medical or scientific qualifications yet they are supposedly 'woke souls' who know all there is to know about diseases and their cures and have also seen through the agenda of big pharmaceutical companies.
These people go on and on about how vaccines are deadly poisons that are being forced by the powers that be on unsuspecting citizens.
One of the most popular arguments is that vaccines are pushed by the pharmaceutical industry because vaccines make them the most money, when in reality vaccines have much lower profit margins than other drugs and only make up 2-3% percent of the worldwide pharmaceutical industry.
Reject Averages Derived From Large Samples Using One Personal Anecdotal Observation
"This new study says smoking can cause lung cancer. But my grandma used to smoke all her life and she died aged 93. Therefore how can smoking cause lung cancer? I absolutely reject this nonsense study."
In all likelihood, everyone must have come across such people once in their lives, people who would use just that one exception they know of and use it to instantly negate the statistical result derived from a large sample size.
Take that smoking example again. These people are so lacking in grey matter inside their brains that when they read or hear 'smoking can cause lung cancer' they assume 'smoking DEFINITELY causes lung cancer'.
And with that sort of a misunderstanding in their head, they are bound to use that one anecdotal exception that they can think of and negate the entire argument in a flash of second because it supposedly make them sound all-knowing, all-intelligent beings!