Pretension of acting as a teacher

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How come some people seem to have a mental necessity to treat other people as if they know nothing? Especially the ones who randomly try to explain the simplest things ad naseum in the most condescending terms. Is it to make them feel better about themselves or is it some manner of delusion that everyone must hear the same boring tripe ten quintillion times in order to learn by memorization?

You will pardon me if I seem didactic - second generation academic, been AND been around teaching all my life.

But: my analysis:

A. one type [mine] has knowing stuff as a major value and lectures [as you see] often with the sense that OF COURSE everybody wants to be pointed to the data that will let them KNOW straight.

B. one type [I will not point fingers at anyone but yrs trly, so fill in a name from your experience] values appearing big, and will often emulate a teacher to garner prestige.

C. one type highly values being RIGHT and loves to memorize the rule book. This type is very dedicated to teaching so others can learn to be righteous too.

D. one type, when seriously dumb [anybody can be dumb, but some types shut up when dumb or ignorant], thinks he knows something and pushes it on people as a power play, fighting with anyone who argues against his position.

This does not exhaust the inventory, but I think it covers most instances.

If an example of type A - well, at least it is aimed as a sincere response to your question.

There is no cut and dry answer to this.

In some cases the person actually does know what they are talking about and are not very tactful in explaining things.

I may have acted this way these last few days cause I do know something of the topics I'm commenting on, but I'm a little distracted from lack of sleep and working on a paper and presentation due Thursday, I can't go hunting for sources and digging through for the best sources I can find atm because I'm trying to finish something else.

There are other people that think they know what they are talking about that don't and think they are somehow superior to everyone that doesn't agree with them.

Then there are people that don't know what they are talking about and know it, but attempt to act like they do to bluff people.

Those are just 3 explainations I can think of off the top of my head.

For what it is worth, while there are those hanging around here who fall by me into one of the didactically hard to take categories, I have tended to see both Inuyasha and iamnotaparakeet as operating within the limits of opinioned but appropriately reasoned debate.

Lord knows my style has gotten some people finding me overbearing from time to time, but I strive to fall into the same continuum.

Good to know at least some people here recognize that I am not a mindless drone.



No worries, happens to anyone.

Some people are didactic by nature.

ruveyn

Are you talking about here on WP?

Or in your real offline life? Or both, or what?

In what context do folks do this to you?

I'm referring to the subject in general, abstracted from any specific context.

If I were to provide an example context I could probably fill the rest of this thread with whining about my stepdad, however I think a productive debate with more thoughts than "poor pity me" or "get over it" would not involve that.

I think there is a type of attitude among people that they need somebody to teach them in order to learn, and possibly this attitude in people who discover they actually have the capability of learning on their own may lead to an attitude of loftiness. IDK, perhaps it's just me thinking about the book Carry On Mr. Bowditch yet again and just randomly sharing a rant about how I feel about ship's officers who acted haughty and demeaning to their crew.

Most of the people here have some sort of inability to socialize in a way that could be considered normal. It seems to me perfectly understandable that the same people would have 'uncomfortable' ways of telling us what they think.

There is often a correlation.

The younger you re in academia, the more formal your language.

The punier the place you teach at, the more you insist on having your title acknowledge.

The more sure you are of your theory, the more you are willing to have people challenge it.

Tendencies, not abolute.

There is nothing intrinsically bad about lecturing others.
(many of us were diagnosed with AS because of our urge to lecture)

And there is more than one way to be verbally abusive.

Authorities can use lecturing in a demeaning way, but we have a notorius superviser who does the exact opposite- doesnt explain things, intimidates people who ask questions, and then gets nasty with subordinates for not knowing things because "you didnt ask questions".

Im sure youve heard from these folks who lecture you that "if you dont want me to repeat the basics to you then start acting like you KNOW the basics and get your act together"-something like that.

Not to take other folks side against you but it could be that you do do something or communicate in some way that inadvertently brings out the lecturer in other people.

Maybe the question is not "whats up with the other person" its "what going on in the way I and the other person communicate" that causes that?".