Long or Short Capital

A lot of people think “being intelligent” is about having a powerful brain, being creative or being able to understand things. This, like a lot of things a lot of people believe, is false. Being intelligent is about one thing and one thing alone — making other people BELIEVE you are intelligent. That is how you become intelligent. “Being intelligent” is something that anyone can manage their ways into.

1) Do not actively think.

If your opponent says something, it is incumbent upon you not to answer them but instead to position your response in such a way that you maximize the opponent’s ability to interpret what you say as “smart.”

Example:

Opponent: I think Google is gonna break $600 by April 2007.
You: I do not disagree.

In this example, “You” has positioned his answer in such a way that he can never be wrong. If Google does hit $600 in April, he can point to the fact that “he did not disagree” with the assertion and thus it can be interpreted that he believed it to be true. If Google does not hit $600 in April, he can point to the fact that “he did not disagree” with the assertion and thus he explicitly did not agree and thus it can be interpreted that he believed it not to be true that Google would hit $600. “You” put himself in the catbird seat without actively thinking anything on his own.

A lot of people, the same lot from above, think that “having an opinion” or “standing for something” are ways for your peers or superiors to think that you are a man or woman of intelligence. This is a common pitfall of people seeking to be intelligent and it is absurd. “Having an opinion” is just a way to demonstrate to those people how foolish you are for leaving yourself exposed to judgment and to make you an object of ridicule for their merriment or a tool for their advancement. Avoid this mistake by becoming a blank slate.