Thread: The World Figured Out.

Originally Posted by Drokens

When I was in high school, I didn't think that I had the whole world figured out, but I did think that I was smarter than almost everybody around me. I think it is just a reaction to being surrounded by moronic and ignorant people. High school is full of dumb kids, so if you only use them as a comparison (or any place where there are many ignorant folk) you will think that you are smarter than you are. Now I'm in college, where everybody isn't as ignorant and because of this I have become less arrogant. It's very important to know that you don't know everything, because the first step to acquiring knowledge is being able to admit where you are ignorant.

. I feel this way too, I feel more mature and intelligent then my class mates. I know this is false, it is just a biased opinion because of the dumb shits I know. I am really interested in philosophy and psychology, I hope my school offers these classes...

Here is what I figured when figuring out the world, it is magic, I then said that magic by definition can not be understood so I stopped right there.

When you're 15 and kinda smart, you feel like you know everything.
Then when you're 18 and in collage you know you know less.
And when you're 40 and married you realise you didn't know jack shit about anything you'd done then.

I'm 17 and a half; so obviously this cannot be taken as anything near writ. But I'm trying to keep it in mind as it seems to be getting truer every day.

I agree with previous posters. As I've gotten older, I've become more humble. When I was a teenager, I definitely didn't know as much about life as I do now (even though I thought I did, and acted arrogant about it). I'm nearly 21, and I know a LOT more about life than I did when I was a teen, but now I understand my limitations, and I realize that as I get older, I will continue to learn even more. So now I tend to avoid arrogant thoughts, and I respect my peers (especially older peers) a lot more.

When you're comparing yourself to the average joe (or even the above-average joe), it's easy to get all excited about how smart you are. Once you begin to explore other avenues for comparison, you will begin to realize some stuff.

I know what you guys are talking about when it comes to changing your philosophy. I went from christian to agnostic and now I think I am turning atheist...

Originally Posted by bradysdreaming

I know feel arrogant for saying this, but I feel like I have the whole world figured out. I am only 15 and I think I have everything down to a solution. I am very observant, so I have been observing people things my whole life. I lost this ability, but I used to be able to see right through people. I used to be able to see right through peoples lies, expressions, illusions, etc.. This was when I was a little kid, lol. This would be useful now, to bad I lost that special touch... So I want to ask, do you feel like you have the world figured out?

I know it's an ugly word, but the phenomenon you are referring to is "delusion." The funny thing about most people that say that they are able to see right through people's lies, illusions, etc. is that they are usually wrong. They just don't know it. They are convinced that they can pick up on the slightest of signals - and often times they can - but they are wrong just as often.

"The only true knowledge is that we know nothing, and it is the highest form of human wisdom." ~Socrates

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

I know it's an ugly word, but the phenomenon you are referring to is "delusion." The funny thing about most people that say that they are able to see right through people's lies, illusions, etc. is that they are usually wrong. They just don't know it. They are convinced that they can pick up on the slightest of signals - and often times they can - but they are wrong just as often.

"The only true knowledge is that we know nothing, and it is the highest form of human wisdom." ~Socrates

I don't see through people at all anymore. I used to, not anymore though... I can't even figure girls out now... My new solution for that now is to just jump in and figure out for myself from experience. My confidence is rising.

I think it's a good idea to "have the world figured out" as opposed to not having the world figured out.

Science has the world figured out for like 95%, but theres still a 5% missing that we need to fill in ourself if we want to properly function in our society. So figuring out the world, or having the world figured out, is pretty essential. I also thought many times, that I had figured out the world, and yeah I still kinda have, but I came to the conclusion that this process is infinite. There is always more stuff to figure out.

Originally Posted by ChaybaChayba

I think it's a good idea to "have the world figured out" as opposed to not having the world figured out.

Science has the world figured out for like 95%, but theres still a 5% missing that we need to fill in ourself if we want to properly function in our society. So figuring out the world, or having the world figured out, is pretty essential. I also thought many times, that I had figured out the world, and yeah I still kinda have, but I came to the conclusion that this process is infinite. There is always more stuff to figure out.

I wouldn't suggest to just blow off that 5% by pretending that you have it figured out. I know that I don't have answers to that 5% and I function fine in society.

Thinking you have the world figured out just leads to arrogance and and ignorance. If you think you have the world figured out, then there's no point in searching for answers.

So what your saying, The world figured out your a homosexual young male?

xkcd: Major in the Universe