There are people who say, 'Oh this guy is quite thick.' I think the reason is that, increasingly, I don't mind being simple in terms of literary expression. Others say, 'No, no, no. He went to Cambridge. He got a good degree. He must be Einstein.'
Economists are evaluated on how intelligent they sound, not on a scientific measure of their knowledge of reality
I don't mind you thinking I'm stupid, but don't talk to me like I'm stupid.
It is indeed very possible, that the Persons we laugh at may in the main of their Characters be much wiser Men than our selves; but if they would have us laugh at them, they must fall short of us in those Respects which stir up this Passion.
For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.
While most people are conditioned to see the body as a biological machine, you can begin to view it as a field of energy, transformation, and intelligence that is constantly renewing itself. Begin to notice both your internal dialogue and how you speak about your body and aging.
Prince Charles has doomed himself by so clearly wanting to be thought clever and cultured: the clever, cultured people don't buy it, and the people don't want a clever, cultured ruler.
The public's not stupid.
I'm reading a book, because I'm brainy. No, it is a book - if you don't know, it is like a blog except bigger.
Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature has made them.
Perhaps a normal man is supposed to be stupid-how do we know? Perhaps it's even very beautiful.
The big trouble with dumb bastards is that they are too dumb to believe there is such a thing as being smart.
The fellow who laughs last may laugh best, but he gets the reputation of being very slow-witted.
I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am.
Be completely honest - have you ever met someone who you thought was truly clever or interesting or witty who wore fawn?
It is easy to be seen as either a genius or a crank. If you have a Ph.D., at least you somewhat lower the chances that you will be seen as a crank.
If the body had been easier to understand, nobody would have thought that we had a mind.
I love to get to the underbelly of why people are up in arms about anything. Really, what I see is a big shadow in the West, in America especially, and everyone's afraid of looking stupid. But the truth is, I'm a genius and I'm stupid at the same time.
When a man puts me a question, I judge of his intelligence.
To the fool, he who speaks wisdom will sound foolish.
Everyone thinks their baby is a genius. People find it delightfully refreshing when I tell them, My baby? Totally average. Like, 100 percent average.
How dumb do I think the Americans are? I bet you we could sell those idiots water.
I wasn't allowed to be clever when I was young and blonde, but now I am 50 and an old blonde, I am allowed to have gravitas. With wrinkles comes wisdom.
It is slightly chilling to realize there are rational, functional people up there employed to spot, nurture, and exploit those down here among us who are irrational and can barely cope. If you want to know how stupid you’re perceived to be by the people up there, count the unsolicited junk mail you receive. If you get a lot, you’re perceived to be alluringly stupid.
I know some real intellectual people who might laugh, very close friends who might laugh when I'm said to be an intellectual.
