# Am I arguing with an idiot I never noticed before? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 9, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811 "2013-10-09T20:49:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/41 "2013-10-11T17:50:54Z")
There’s one more - [S&P says 'I told you so' about US credit rating - Great Debates - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=703587) ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/42 "2013-10-11T19:14:46Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > There’s one more - [S&P says 'I told you so' about US credit rating - Great Debates - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=703587) Wow! I had missed that one. To act like that in GD, no less! I must be honest and admit that I regretted my little MENSA dig upthread. After all, I had no beef with him myself (although more than a few vicariously). But, now, after having been shown some of his posts, and especially his threads (where his antagonism is dripping off the monitor before he’s even had a single response), I’m feeling pretty good about it. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/43 "2013-10-11T21:53:05Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Candy and flowers never hurt, either. Really? I guess you’ve never been hit by a 2 pound Whitman’s Sampler and a “Sorry I Fucked Your Sister” FTD bouquet thrown off a fifth floor balcony. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/44 "2013-10-11T21:55:57Z")
Hey guys go easy. He’s a hopeless dilettante. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/45 "2013-10-11T21:56:33Z")
It’s the thorns on the roses - extra added for effect - that really sell that product, though. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/46 "2013-10-14T20:33:18Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > You do, however, totally win for the sentence, “My analogy was analogous.” in that thread. > > I honestly don’t know what sentence could be better. Indeed. My sentence sure was a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/47 "2013-10-14T21:32:11Z")
I ran into him in a GQ question about the LHC that almost turned into a pit. Start at [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16059095#post16059095) and read down if you have the time. It’s amazing the way Pasta keeps his cool through every post in the face of such responses. Bonus points to **Half Man Half Wit** for summing it all up: > [@Why does the LHC have straight sections?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-lhc-have-straight-sections/651656/32): > > Furthermore, **Pasta** has been unequivocally correct and gracious in every response to you, which you countered with nothing but obtuseness, snark and the assumption of an air of superiority you clearly fail to possess in actuality. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/48 "2013-10-14T21:39:42Z")
I want to see **Ravenman** versus **TroutMan** - cage match! ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/49 "2013-10-14T21:50:58Z")
Caaaw! Caaw! Bird beats fish. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/50 "2013-10-14T21:58:03Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Start at [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16059095#post16059095) and read down if you have the time. Can’t believe I missed that one the first time. It’s odd seeing the word demur used as an adjective, especially from a self-claimed dilettante attorney. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/51 "2013-10-14T22:10:30Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I want to see **Ravenman** versus **TroutMan** - cage match! I’ve already had to battle the **[Troutsqueezer](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15654450#post15654450)** and **[Gangster Octopus](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16491402#post16491402)** in threads. Well, technically the Octopus battle was going to be a SyFy movie, but I liked my odds. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/52 "2013-10-18T16:13:09Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > The target of the OP doesn’t strike me as an idiot. Rather, he’s the embodiment of a little bit of knowledge being a dangerous thing. In D&D terms he has above average intelligence and wholly substandard wisdom. He has no idea what he doesn’t know. So it’s not quite the Dunning-Krueger effect. I would agree but after the pretentious arrogance displayed in this post ([http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16713068&postcount=4](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16713068&postcount=4)) I tried to suggest a bit more humility but he would have none of it. He continued to insist he understood treasury auctions when he didn’t (he seems to be stuck in how markets price bonds rather than how treasury auctions work) so I tried tried to explain how they really worked. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16768727&postcount=123](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16768727&postcount=123) And I suspect he will continue to be intentionally ignorant. I can only assume that admitting error is a capital offense where he comes from. > [@](#): > > I’ve clashed swords with Ravenman before, but it’s always been rewarding because I’ve been willing to learn something. In contrast, I can’t say I trust deltasigma’s specialist knowledge, such as it is. Still, there’s some hope: at least deltasigma has a sense of humor and more than a few value-added posts. Pretty much. The odd thing is that intelligent back-pedaling can strengthen your status here. It’s generally understood that nobody on this board knows everything, Cecil excepted. I think he’s just a clever young guy who thinks he knows everything. I guess we’ve all been there. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/53 "2013-10-20T07:58:55Z")
Before you argue with an idiot, make sure he’s not doing the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/54 "2013-10-20T16:44:30Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Before you argue with an idiot, make sure he’s not doing the same thing. Self awareness? From some of our biggest resident blowhards? You are a more hopeful person than I am. I’ve been checking into that thread from time to time. It’s a thing of twisted beauty. I’ve been waiting to see if it would eventually collapse into a singularity of self-importance, threatening to take the rest of the Earth with it. Alas, not yet. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811/55 "2013-10-21T15:04:15Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Self awareness? From some of our biggest resident blowhards? You are a more hopeful person than I am. > > I’ve been checking into that thread from time to time. It’s a thing of twisted beauty. I’ve been waiting to see if it would eventually collapse into a singularity of self-importance, threatening to take the rest of the Earth with it. Alas, not yet. Which thread? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-arguing-with-an-idiot-i-never-noticed-before/670811.md?page=2)