How to Deal With Ignorant People: Control Measures

“I know that I do not know anything,” – this phrase is supposed to be said by Socrates and it became a life motto for many people – surely, in most cases for those, who know a lot.

However, ignorant people complain of ignorance very seldom, because, as a rule, they are sure that they are not only more educated and well-read, but more intelligent as well.

They are always ready to discuss serious things, making remarks of the cosmic scale, without understanding they say the same cosmic nonsense.

Nevertheless, ignorant people do not notice it and are pretty satisfied with themselves.

So, let’s figure out how to deal with ignorant people.

Who ignorant people are?

From the psychological point of view there is nothing obscure in the behavior of ignorant people – it is defined by the so-called “the Dunning-Kruger effect”.

It was named this way after the employees of the Cornell University – David Dunning and Justin Kruger, who discovered the effect – they were the first to pay attention to it and described it in details.

According to this effect, the lower one’s intelligence is, the more modest are his professional abilities and world view, the less he understands his own ignorance or feels inferiority.

It happens because of the lack of intelligence – such people cannot imply understand they know and are capable of less than those, who actually did more – read, studied, developed the professional skills.

Even Charles Darwin paid attention to it and wrote: “Ignorance brings confidence more often than knowledge”.

Characteristic of ignorant people, with whom you should learn how to deal:

1. These are people, who are completely sure there is only their point of view.

2. They never listen to anyone during the conversation.

   Sometimes it’s even hard to introduce the exclamation to their monologue.

   However, your presence as a listener is incredibly important for them.

3. If you actually get a chance to talk to them, you will always be interrupted either by inappropriate comments or silly questions.
4. As a rule, in order to prove the importance of their own personality, ignorant people are rude to others and act as if they have a right to do it.
5. By the level of their self-expression they may be either very loud and destructive or, on the contrary, too quiet and unnoticeable.
6. Usually they are secretly or obviously thrilled by their power.
7. You have a feeling that you are speaking different languages, because they are chronically unable to understand the simplest words.
8. Their behavior often disturbs your spiritual balance.

Process of dealing with ignorant people

Dealing with ignorance is a process, which comes through all human history and is connected to the knowledge gathering and a share of free minded people.

Usually ignorance is opposed by intelligence, but it’s not completely true, because education, which is built on formal remembering of thoughts, which belong to others and limits your mind, is able to turn a person into a slave.

Ignorance was never won, and it just took new forms.

It’s important to spot ignorance in time; otherwise, it will be late.

How to Become Enlightened: the Best Methods

Modern forms of ignorance:

1. Detraction of your own and someone else’s personality:

   • the herd instinct;
   • slave mentality and/or maliciously-coward barking/ barking from the backstreet;
   • crawl in front of the authorities;
   • persuasion that “rules” and “right” are the same things;
   • respect to wealth, money, ratings and to other universal criteria in general;
   • belief in advertisement.

2. Detraction of one’s own abilities:

   • easy-chair bureaucratic administration;
   • disbelief in your own development;
   • lack of common sense;
   • blind belief in certain ideology.

3. Detraction of others’ abilities:

   • pretension on understanding what polyhistory is;
   • paying no attention to others thoughts;
   • assumption of complete knowledge;
   • disbelief in folk wisdom.

Methods of how to deal with ignorant people on the state level

The country, which acts for the population’s benefit, must always care about how to deal with ignorant people.

This fight must become number one on the priority list of tasks.

Control measures in dealing with ignorant people on the state level:

• Organizing popular education, which up-brings smart, free and moral people instead of easily controlled robots;
• establishing useful for the population radio and TV channels, free from advertisement and other forms of “brainwashing”;
• creating the net of free and accessible libraries for various categories of readers (including online-libraries);
• supporting the hobby groups to involve children and young people in the art;
• financing the edition of useful books, translation of encyclopedias and other values for public usage;
• financing museums, art galleries, theatres and other culture establishments;
• liberalizing the law of copyright.

What you can and cannot do dealing with ignorant people?

Things you should do dealing with ignorant people:

1. Do not deal with them or agree with everything they say or ignore it.
2. Avoid as much as possible.

3. Do not take offence at them or come up with the revenge plan.

   They won’t appreciate it and won’t understand your grand design – you’ll only waste your powers in vain.

4. Do not lose your balance.

   Under no circumstances do it, or else they’ll catch your reaction.

5. Never react to provocations.

   If you won’t respond to them, you’ll clearly see that you are simply cheated.

How to Become an Interesting Person?

Things you should never do dealing with such people:

1. Bitterly argue, because they wait for it!
2. Follow their directions, hoping they’ll leave you alone.
3. Trying to convince them in anything peacefully. It’s impossible, because the maximum you’ll get will be: “Yes-yes, you are right, but…”

How to stop letting ignorant people bother you?

It bothers you, when people boldly ignore the facts, which are straight in front of them, does not it?

Do ignorant, weak-minded people leave a feeling of disappointment after themselves?

Here are some pieces of advice, which are sure to show you how to deal with this problem.

4 recommendations on how to stop letting ignorant people bother you

1. Ignore them.

   This is the simplest option, when you speak about such kind of people.

   They will always consider themselves right and won’t care to listen to you, because they do not want to be mistaken… even if they know how right you are.

2. Focus on something else.

   This way you’ll help yourself ignore the person, who bothers you.

3. If such people continue to aggressively argue with you, you should calmly say that you won’t dispute with them.

4. If an ignorant person is close to you, you’d better preserve calmness and understanding as much as possible.

   Explain this person what bothers you and change the subject of the conversations.

Ways to Invest in Yourself

How to deal with your own ignorance?

Everyone should realize that if he does not counteract his ignorance actively, the abyss of entropy can swallow him.

Here are some tips, which will definitely be useful for everybody, who wants to master his mind.

Methods of how to deal with your slave mentality:

• refuse to have the cult of your own personality;
• refuse to compare yourself with others;
• be involved and devoted to any creative activity (or at least hobby);
• stop (at least temporary) from watching TV and reading newspapers/magazines/ tabloids (from consuming “the products” of all media in general);
• give up dreadful habits;
• stop following fashion and ignore it passively creating your own style in everything;
• treat all riches calmly and reasonably;
• constantly learn something new and useful in order to keep your mind “fresh”.

Ways how to deal with lack of self-confidence:

• create daily plan (weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly) of actions and control its achievement;
• participate in any kind of public activity;
• be responsible and rational doing any kind of work;
• refuse to detract the results of your work, but do not exaggerate their importance as well;
• learn and develop any scientific or philosophic conception;
• actively help your close people or, at least, be morally ready to help.

Mind that you should not only know how to deal with ignorant people, but never become such person, either.

However, there is no need to worry all the time, if someone is said to be ignorant.

Let everyone has his own path.

There is no sense arguing with a person, who always wants to be right.

Do not lose your self-possession!