Why do a lot of NTs seem to hate intellectuals?

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After studying the Amish for years, I still don't get what "worldliness" (something they think is evil and horrible) is exactly, but I do know they consider education to lead to it. Most societies think it's good to be "proud" but the Amish seem to disdain "pride" as well.

Also, sorry to double post, and sorry to generalize, but after living in numerous parts of the USA over the years, I get the feeling that only a small fraction of Americans know it wasn't just "England" that their ancestors fought against for independence.

I'm NT. I think what you're describing is more of a cultural observation.
In East Asian cultures for example intellectualism is still prized, although they'd prefer you exercise it with humility.

I think part of the problem with American culture is that forms of "entertainment" (such as movies, music, TV, video games, etc) have displaced the importance of intellectual goals and knowledge for a lot of people. On the other hand, people in a lot of Third World countries still have a love of learning. They also aren't as spoiled as we Americans are, and thus have a practical economic need to explore the world around them, in search of places where they just MIGHT be able to find a better quality of life. Basically, non-Americans seem much more knowledgeable about countries and cultures (other than their own) than Americans seem to be. Also, people in a lot of very poor countries are VERY lucky if they can get any education at all. For example, a lot of Burmese Americans (there aren't many of them) work as doctors because the only scholarship opportunities they had were to become doctors. People in these kinds of circumstances pretty much HAVE to embrace education or else they will live in a jungle their whole lives.

I think losers and slackers -- NT or otherwise -- hate intelligent and reasonable people.


Oh, yes!


Yes, yes, and yes.


Not bloody likely. Remember, the definition as stated includes, "of or relating to the intellect or its use"; "developed or chiefly guided by the intellect rather than by emotion or experience : rational"; and "requiring use of the intellect".

: : A person lacking intellect can not be intellectual.

It saddens me how a lot of people are proud of their ignorance. For example, one of my neighbors in Texas was an old lady who said she was proud to use double negatives in her speech patterns (such as the phrase "ain't no"). I've heard some California people complain about how all Southerners seem to talk like that and are proud of it, but a lot of white people here in the Philadelphia area do it too...

A person with a 80 IQ can fulfill the criteria you mention above but be considered unintelligent by society. Also, being right is not a requirement for using intellect and being rational.

Other than that, you entirely missed the point of my post. Does that make you unintelligent? No, you used your intellect to respond and you seem rational, you can still qualify for intellectual status.

Well since you're going to generalize and target specific groups, who do you think are worse? Those worthless Amish or them thar ignr'nt whities? Sorry, I'm being insensitive to your sadness, would you like an E-tissue?

I'm thinking an "intellectual" should be able to realize that "culture" is a subjective construct, and there is actually no "right" way to talk, dress, ect.

If people are "anti-intellectual," it might be because a lot of what passes for "intellectual" is actually just pseudo-intellectual.

Jesus Christ, what did I say to offend anybody? I get the feeling some of you might have problems with manners, grammar, and other social skills yourselves, and might be confusing some people's disabilities with other people's WILLFUL ignorance. I meant no offense to anybody. A lot of small town Southerners and Amish are neurotypical, but are kind of an embarrassment to the larger USA...

First the Amish are fanatics, now people who speak different dialects are ignorant? Do you even see the irony in your posts? English is not spoken exactly the same everywhere. If southern American dialects are ignorant, the English spoken in Australia, Scotland, and anywhere else where your dialect is not spoken is ignorant as well.



Rules of grammar are different for different dialects of English, just as the grammar of modern standard English is different from the grammar of the English spoken in different parts of history. Language is a living thing; the correct way to use it changes with time and region.

Last edited by starkid on 01 Sep 2012, 7:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I don't judge people by their dialect per se, or their accent, but double negatives are a problem with grammar and sentence structure. Most Americans (all the teachers I ever had anyway) think of double negatives as a mark of an ignorant person. Let's face it, the Southern USA is known for a lower quality of life and standard of living than the rest of the USA. Even 100 years ago, the education in much of the South was lacking compared to that in other regions. Double negatives are synonymous with uneducated people.

Embracing education is not the same thing as being an intellectual. In fact, there has been some discussion online concerning high-achieving STEM students and workers from Asia slavishly obeying authority and being unable or unwilling to think for themselves.



That's because Standard English is the English taught in schools. Double negatives are grammatically incorrect in Standard English; they are grammatically permssible in other dialects. If you are judging people for using double negatives while they are speaking a dialect in which this is permissible, then yes, you are judging people by their dialect.


So you're supporting your position with stereotypes and appeals to popular opinion (in your region)? On a thread in which you complain about anti-intellectualism. Lol.

Last edited by starkid on 01 Sep 2012, 8:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Intelligent peoples tend to have a wide range of interests, so are then many intellectuals. Of course, to become a specialist, and thus making a contribution to a area of knowledge, one must spend a lot of time to study on a particular subject.


I do tend to feel treatened sometime by peoples much smarter than me, though I don't let that make me hate them. This is quite a problem for me.

I'm not really interested in feel-good identity politics. Sometimes we as humans should make SOME effort to fit in with others, and that applies to the way we speak. I thought it was a joke at first when I read about the concept of "African American Vernacular English", which is just the name given to a dreadful form of English by people who want to appear politically correct. Sure, a lot of African Americans inherited this ugly "dialect", but I've observed that a lot of them have wisely tried to get away from it as they have pursued higher education.

Why don't you take your own advice then. You're obviously pissing people off and you keep fueling it instead of making "some effort to fit in with others".

Now you go on about observing some black people "wisely trying" trying to get away from a dialect that was developed over 400 years of slavery and segregation from the rest of society. 40 years ago black people couldn't drink out of the same water fountain as a white person. They couldn't get the sames jobs as white people. Their children couldn't go to the same schools as white children. Is it really that much of a mystery to your 'towering intellect'? Must be, because your line of thinking is- 'Those lazy negroes are finally starting to get off their lazy asses and go to college so they can be like real people'. We haven't even achieved racial equality and you're bitching about dialect. f*****g moron.

Why do NT's and non NTs hate intellectuals? Because ignorant bigot turds like you portray themselves as intellectuals. GTFO troll.