Pseudo-intellectuals are people of average intelligence who are enchanted with highly intellectual topics and discussions such as philosophy, socioeconomics, destiny of humanity, etc.
Unlike a genuine academic, a pseudo-intellectual’s main reason for being interested in these topics is because it makes him feel intellectually superior to his peers. He usually despises main stream culture, accuses those who disagree with him as being ignorant, and when his ideas are challenged, he often retaliates with “That’s a straw man argument!”
Pseudo-intellectuals can often be found in political discussion boards on the internet, patronizing boutique shops, participating in various Anti-something rallies, sitting on a park’s bench during a weekend afternoon and playing a guitar, or spending eight consecutive years in college trying to earn a B.A degree in political science or philosophy.
Unlike a genuine academic, a pseudo-intellectual’s main reason for being interested in these topics is because it makes him feel intellectually superior to his peers. He usually despises main stream culture, accuses those who disagree with him as being ignorant, and when his ideas are challenged, he often retaliates with “That’s a straw man argument!”
Pseudo-intellectuals can often be found in political discussion boards on the internet, patronizing boutique shops, participating in various Anti-something rallies, sitting on a park’s bench during a weekend afternoon and playing a guitar, or spending eight consecutive years in college trying to earn a B.A degree in political science or philosophy.
Jim: Who is that asshole that sits in the back of the class in American History and pisses off the professor all the time?
Amy: Oh, that’s Mark. He’s one of those pseudo-intellectuals.
Amy: Oh, that’s Mark. He’s one of those pseudo-intellectuals.
by Edgardo February 5, 2007
Get the pseudo-intellectuals mug.Someone who uses flashy words and quotes from intellectuals to make them sound a bit more clever than they really are because they don't have original thoughts for themselves.
Also see: pretentious
Also see: pretentious
by Kelly Osbourne's Gimp April 25, 2005
Get the pseudo-intellectuals mug.1. Non-intellectuals who can at least keep up the appearance for fifteen minutes.
2. Cop-out postmodernists.
3. Critics.
2. Cop-out postmodernists.
3. Critics.
...After fifteen minutes over coffee discussing the qualities of Emerson's work as being original, he screamed in desperation: "There is nothing left to be original about! There is nothing original left! I see no value in anything because everything has already been thought!" He then made an effort to point out the flaws in a friend's poem and how she could improve it with synonyms and left in silence.
by heroin hiroshima May 1, 2005
Get the pseudo-intellectuals mug.pseudo-intellectual: hey, check out this self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.
you: you mean that SCUBA gear?
psuedo-intellectual: yeah, that.
you: you mean that SCUBA gear?
psuedo-intellectual: yeah, that.
by Rora47 July 26, 2012
Get the pseudo-intellectual mug.Oh man. I remember years ago when TED conferences were filled with genuinely inspiring, fascinating and ground-breaking presentations. That recent TEDx conference was just a pseudo-intellectual circle jerk.
by PseudoIntellect July 2, 2012
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Get the pseudo-intellectual mug.4 signs of the pseudo-intellectual
1. Quoting
2. Going against common thought without evidence
3. Bringing up intellectualism in non-requistite situations
4. Un-neccersary use of verbs and adjectives with 4 syllables or more
1. Quoting
2. Going against common thought without evidence
3. Bringing up intellectualism in non-requistite situations
4. Un-neccersary use of verbs and adjectives with 4 syllables or more
Dude #1: hey wanna go to the movies tomorrow night?
Dude #2: Nah, the cinema is so low-brow. I don't understand how so many people find aesthetic values in it. I'm going home to read. As Descartes said "cogito, ergo sum".
Dude #1: Yeah....OK.
Dude #2: Nah, the cinema is so low-brow. I don't understand how so many people find aesthetic values in it. I'm going home to read. As Descartes said "cogito, ergo sum".
Dude #1: Yeah....OK.
by Simon Bee July 15, 2008
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