The snob and the idiot

"Pretension is a problem because it can be mistaken for knowing a lot about something. Someone who genuinely knows about something can come across as a rather pedantic know-it-all. He can't help knowing things, either. I see the other side of the coin, If you're on the bus and an old woman says, "I hate spiders. I hate all insects." You don't say, "You're an idiot. It's an arachnid." Likewise, there are points when you do have to say, "Actually, that's not strictly true." It's that fine line of knowing when to show you know something and when not to. I'm not saying I suffer from it, but they do it on "The Simpsons" a lot, where Lisa Simpson is burdened by intellect in a world where it's not really being looked up to. I like both sides of that coin. I like a snob being brought down to earth, and I also can laugh at people who are totally ignorant and revel in it."

-Ricky Gervais, from an interview in issue 26 of Stop Smiling magazine.

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2 comments

  1. I'm hoping they put the whole interview online once the next print issue comes out. In this day and age it was strange to have to type that paragraph in by hand.

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