An individual who spends more time trying to flex their intellect rather than actually wanting to learn. Pseudo-intellectuals aren't unintelligent or uneducated per se, however the crux of the issue is that they are not as intelligent as they are letting on. For example, to be an intellect on a specific subject, an intellectual would read multiple books or articles then study them in order to retain all the information. A pseudo-intellectual would read one article and label themselves an expert on the subject.
Ways to spot a pseudo-intellectual
1. Plagiarising
2. Quoting
3. Using advanced language to make themselves sound smart, but fails because they use the word incorrectly
4. They use their knowledge as a weapon. For example smart people want to pass on the knowledge they have to other people to inform them on a certain subject. Pseudo-intellectuals on the other hand seek to impress and show off, so put others down to increase their feelings of superiority and lower the self worth of others for their own personal gain
5. They like to start arguments whether it is on politics, philosophy, religion or science, but it ends up backfiring on them due to only retaining snippets of information on these topics, but not the full story, whereas their opponent has been pre-educated before the debate and read multiples books and sources on the topic throughly, thus absolutely thrashing the pseudo-intellectual in a debate. Ultimately never begin a debate on something you know nothing about because people will get the impression thag you're just desperate to flex your knowledge when there probably isn't much of it.
1. Plagiarising
2. Quoting
3. Using advanced language to make themselves sound smart, but fails because they use the word incorrectly
4. They use their knowledge as a weapon. For example smart people want to pass on the knowledge they have to other people to inform them on a certain subject. Pseudo-intellectuals on the other hand seek to impress and show off, so put others down to increase their feelings of superiority and lower the self worth of others for their own personal gain
5. They like to start arguments whether it is on politics, philosophy, religion or science, but it ends up backfiring on them due to only retaining snippets of information on these topics, but not the full story, whereas their opponent has been pre-educated before the debate and read multiples books and sources on the topic throughly, thus absolutely thrashing the pseudo-intellectual in a debate. Ultimately never begin a debate on something you know nothing about because people will get the impression thag you're just desperate to flex your knowledge when there probably isn't much of it.
by Rotten Turkey May 26, 2022
Like word salad but the words coming out of the person speaking actually sound intelligent and enable the speaker to come across as intellectual. Intellectual origami involves sounding intellectual for the sake of sounding intellectual. The speaker will use high profile and scientific sounding words. Think of origami like an intricately folded collection of sharp edges which look impressive, but have much less weight than you’d think.
Paul from Love Is Blind deployed his intellectual origami when speaking or answering any question that production asked him. It would sound impressive, but ultimately it was just a form of intellectual word salad.
by Bah Zah May 5, 2023
1. A phrase describing the act of habitually reserving judgment regarding people, places, and/or situations;
2. Avoiding forming opinions and conclusions which one is not required or beholden to form.
2. Avoiding forming opinions and conclusions which one is not required or beholden to form.
by jack1e August 21, 2010
by Clarinet Jones January 22, 2017
Prima facie intellectual people who are conveniently and absurdly hyperintellectual when it comes to carrying out their interests and suddenly without warning sharply anti-intellectual when it comes to protecting their perceived sources of income, donors/patrons/supporters, inter alia. In other words, a hack.
Example 1)
Abomination Intellectual (i.e. A Hack; Satire of an Intellectual Person): "place A is bad, they killed thousands of people via poisoned toothpicks"
Questioner (i.e. Actual Intellectual Person): "place B who funded your talk killed thousands of people via poisoned straws."
Questioner Thinking: "Why are there so many of these abomination intellectuals, fake people, charlatans? who regulates these people?"
Abomination Intellectual: "The hour is up, thank you for coming to my talk." (i.e. the irony is that neglectful silence is anti-intellectual)
Example 2) Abomination Intellectual: "Give me your money and i'll silence your critics intellectually giving you the space to enjoy your ill gotten gains, while the attention is all on me."
Abomination Intellectual (i.e. A Hack; Satire of an Intellectual Person): "place A is bad, they killed thousands of people via poisoned toothpicks"
Questioner (i.e. Actual Intellectual Person): "place B who funded your talk killed thousands of people via poisoned straws."
Questioner Thinking: "Why are there so many of these abomination intellectuals, fake people, charlatans? who regulates these people?"
Abomination Intellectual: "The hour is up, thank you for coming to my talk." (i.e. the irony is that neglectful silence is anti-intellectual)
Example 2) Abomination Intellectual: "Give me your money and i'll silence your critics intellectually giving you the space to enjoy your ill gotten gains, while the attention is all on me."
by Gemma5702 December 16, 2021
An intellectual paradox is the phenomenon whereby professionals and academics acknowledge a concept, practice it, write about it, and promote its relevance individually but as a collective lack a consensus on exactly what it is.
by Master3x January 7, 2021
A group of people that fuels each other. The intellectuals communicate through language the ideas and thoughts of the group, and teach, while the spiritual ones provide (or are) the fuel to the group that keep things going, get things and people heated up about bullshit. Usually they end up making a mushroom cloud of their environment as long as they're in.
by Solid Mantis January 2, 2020