How can I tell if I'm a pseudointellectual?

How can I tell if I'm a pseudointellectual?

I don't want to be like those normalfag "soccer dad" types who think that reading New York Times editorials is a good use of their time. I also don't want to end up like those retired 60-year-olds who've realized that they did nothing their entire lives and are trying desperately to find meaning in their final years by plowing through "Great Books" lists. Please help.

are you afraid to quit your job?
how much of your time outside of the office is spent on work-rated activities?
would you turn down extra work to finish a book?
would you rather be destitute or illiterate?
would you still read if you could never speak to a human being about books ever again?

Why do you care about a subjective and vaguely defined words and whether they apply to you or not?

Why do you think the choice of media you consume is so important?

What does it mean to "do" something with one's life?

Literally just b urself user.

Who cares man, just read books you like.

>Why do you think the choice of media you consume is so important?
You're right. I should just play video games for the rest of my life and achieve nothing of value.

Decent tests

Reading a book is not an achievement, get ogre yourself

Merely consuming is not enough. Gotta produce. Even if it's garbage (and it will be, at first). Do you ever completely hate a book you're reading but feel obligated to finish it because it's canon? Do you talk to other people who didn't ask probably don't care about books you've read? Do you post about reading on social media?

You post on Veeky Forums

If you have conversations with people, where you both try to prove your point, without actually seeking to understand their point, you're probably pseud.

If you engage in oneupmanship with someone, you're probably pseud.

Really, if you're not seeking to actually learn something from a conversation, you shouldn't be having it. Don't waste your time waxing moronic with people. If you gain nothing from the conversation, you should probably just read a book on the subject.

As a general rule, if you're telling people about what you know without specifically being asked about it, you're pseud.

If you need to ask for advice like this then you are a pseud.
There are no "rules" to be intelligent. The fact that you think there are says enough.

Everything is terrible and when you beat the final boss he just moves to inside you.
Material existence is like a fly trap. Accept nothing from this plane. When you die, fly away from here. Do not touch this place with your soul.

>Really, if you're not seeking to actually learn something from a conversation, you shouldn't be having it. Don't waste your time waxing moronic with people.

What is socializing? You're an edgy cunt and your advice is horrible.

>cultivating information over hedonist bullshit
Palsy?

If you don't know, you are.

I can socialize without spouting off minutiae that no one gives a fuck about. If I'm socializing, I am doing so because I have an active interest in the lives of my friends. So I'm asking questions about what they've been up to, how life is going, and I'm listening. What I don't do is engage in intellectual debate with near strangers who have no background in a subject.

>So I'm asking questions about what they've been up to, how life is going,

Yeah bro, that is called "small talk". That's what you got up on a pedestal for? Talk about time-wasting conversation.

If you're worried about being a pseudointellectual, you are a pseudointellectual

That's not small talk. Small talk is sports and weather. When I speak to a friend, I am actually interested. I'm not "passing time". I am taking an active interest. I am asking about my god-children. Making sure everything is going well with their wives. More importantly I react. When I found out shit was going south with my friend's marriage, I moved him into my house for the duration of the divorce proceedings. Small talk is what you do at a bar. It's fluff. My point was about seeking understanding. As in, not going into a conversation trying to hammer home some point about how well read you are.

>sitting around reading books
>achievement

The hardest thing about reading "hard" books is suppressing boredom, making a really tall card castle is more of an achievement.

It's nice to do cerebral things in your spare time, and reading books is probably healthier than playing video games, but passively consuming books is not an "achievement."

You're a pseudointellectual if you care more about seeming like an intellectual than about actually doing mental work. If you actually care about doing mental work more than about how people perceive it, then - no matter how bad or good you are at the work - you are an intellectual.

>I also don't want to end up like those retired 60-year-olds who've realized that they did nothing their entire lives and are trying desperately to find meaning in their final years by

Sorry, m80. Every man faces this, no matter how successful.

Um no. He's right.

How to tell if you're a pseudointellectual: you consider reading books an achievement

>I also don't want to end up like those retired 60-year-olds who've realized that they did nothing their entire lives


Get married, have kids, raise them well.
This is the easiest way to more or less guarantee feeling that your life had meaning by the time you're approaching the end of it. That's not to say that it's easy, but it's certainly easier than the alternative.


As for intellectualism, don't worry about it. Read what is of interest to you and what challenges you. Focus on expanding your mind in the ways that are of the most use to you personally.

>actually doing mental work

You're right a Doctor's viewpoints means shit. Yeah Kevin, I can't contradict your use of ketchup to treat cancer instead of using the conventional treatment.

Can you write about what you read? Can you make coherent arguments about a book without losing sight of the book's meaning? If so, then you're probably fine. But if you can't articulate your thoughts or you find that you just don't have many thoughts at all on what you're reading, you might be a psued.

most real intellectuals i know are good at writing. they have something to convey and do so without tripe