Trump says someone needs to declare he magically won the 2020 election

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday former President Donald J. Trump made the amazing Truth Social post shown above, ending as follows:

 

“REMEDY: Declare the rightful winner or, and this would be the minimal solution, declare the 2020 Election irreparably compromised and have a new Election immediately!”

 

But who could declare him to be the winner? The Donald seems to have confused our election process with how the UK works.

 

Previously we have put up with claims at Fox News like one on July 15, 2022 titled Tucker Carlson: Biden is cognitively unable to serve and Democrats have known this for years. Today at Raw Story there instead is an article by Brad Reed titled Only being ‘cognitively impaired’ could excuse Trump’s recent Truth Social rant; conservative author.

 

How many servings of a beverage does it take to give you a lethal dose of caffeine?

 

I enjoy looking for articles at the McGill Office for Science and Society. There is one on August 26, 2022 by intern Cat Wang titled How many Yerbas does it take to overdose on caffeine? She says:

 

“Let’s crunch the numbers - how much is too much? A lethal amount of caffeine is about 180 mg/L, which has been determined by examining the blood of patients who died from overdose. When you consume ~100 mg of caffeine, it raises your blood caffeine levels by about 5 mg/L, meaning it’ll take almost 40 cups of coffee to be lethal. It’s also important to consider that caffeine takes as little as 15 minutes to take effect and has an average half-life of five hours. Half-life is a measure of how quickly your body eliminates a certain substance; if you have your typical 200 mg, then wait five hours, you will still have 100 mg left in your system. Because your body is constantly metabolizing, you would also need to get those coffees down within a few hours for it to kill you. Weight, other medical conditions, and genetics also play a role when it comes down to how caffeine reacts in your system, so lethal dose can vary greatly from person to person. To keep things simple, most scientists define the lethal dose to be 10 grams. Let’s use that for our calculations.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kat has an excellent vertical bar chart titled Number of servings of various beverages it takes to reach a lethal dose of caffeine. (It had results for items sold in the cafeteria at that university in Montreal). My horizontal bar chart version is shown above. I have left off the Rise Kombucha she had, and added the truck-stop favorite 5 Hour Energy Extra Strength Shot. You would have to drink an unlikely 67 ~pint cans of Yerba Mate or 300 12-ounce cans of Coca Cola to get a lethal dose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If we multiply the number of servings by the ounces in a serving, we get the liquid volumes shown above, which are more conveniently shown in gallons (at 128 ounces per gallon). Those 67 cans of Yerba Mate amount to 8.1 gallons, and 300 12-ounce cans of Coca Cola to 28.1 gallons. But 43.5 1.93 oz. bottles of the very concentrated 5 Hour Energy Extra Strength Shots (230 mg caffeine) only totals to 2/3 of a gallon. A doomsday prepper might have that many bottles stockpiled, so an uninformed teenager could accidentally take a lethal overdose.  

 

Another article from the U. S. Food & Drug Administration is titled Spilling the beans: How much caffeine is too much? It says:

 

“For healthy adults, the FDA has cited 400 milligrams a day – that’s about for or five cups of coffee – as an amount not generally associated with dangerous, negative effects.

 

….The FDA estimates toxic effects, like seizures, can be observed with rapid consumption of around 1,200 milligrams of caffeine, or 0.15 tablespoons of pure caffeine.”

 

On April 19, 2022 I blogged about another article from McGill in a post titled How to do a better job of researching medical and health articles.

 

Subdivisions and signs of silliness

 

Ideas for speeches can come from right around you. Near my home in metro Boise and south of Lake Hazel Road there are two subdivisions under construction, east (Locale) and west (Baserri) of Cole Road. On February 11, 2020 I blogged about how A billboard for the new Locale subdivision in Boise went up before they even had finished naming all the streets. The rather generic name is pronounced Low Cal, so it could be just for dieters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As shown above, they built a monumental Locale sign at the entrance on Barnwood Avenue. The name is in black painted letters on a background of rusted (unpainted) steel. In the bright morning sun that lettering is very visible when looking west.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But when looking east (in shadows) the lettering has less contrast and is barely visible. The word Locale might better have been painted white. Luckily there also are several signs for the CBH sales center with white painted backgrounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That monumentally flawed sign provides a lesson for design of PowerPoint slides. Dave Paradi has an online tool at Think Outside the Slide you can use called the Color Contrast Calculator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

West of Cole Road there is the Baserri subdivision. Its entrance from Cole Road at Madrona Wood is marked as shown above, by a sign with dark gray letters incised on a huge, tan artificial rock. Baserri is a Basque word denoting a type of half-timbered housebarn farmhouse. That name is locally significant since Boise has an important Basque community with a museum and cultural center, and an annual festival. Thankfully the streets in that subdivision do not have difficult to spell Basque names like Cenarrusa and Ysursa (two men who were Secretary of State for Idaho).    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is the most generic subdivision name? How about Woods of Trees?  

 

A simple rule for visual PowerPoint presentations: Use a total of just 40 words in your first 10 slides

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An article by Carmine Gallo at Inc. on August 19, 2022 is titled A simple PowerPoint rule to wow your audience, and subtitled Follow the “10-40 Rule” to create slides with less text and more pictures.

 

He notes that the average PowerPoint slide contains 40 words. The one shown above has 65 words. Its text is the first paragraph from his article (and first sentence from the second paragraph). As a stand-alone document it explains the accompanying image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But for a presentation you only need the headline (seven words) shown above, since you can tell the audience the rest. Mr. Gallo says that your first ten slides should contain a total of forty words (or less). He says he got that limit by looking at Steve Jobs most famous keynote speeches. You can see that in a YouTube video of the 2007 presentation introducing the iPhone.

 

But how should you choose those words? Back on February 19, 2014 I blogged about how Assertion-Evidence PowerPoint slides are a visual alternative to bullet point lists. Michael Alley says the headline (assertion) statement should take up just two lines.

 

I don’t like Mr. Gallo calling it the 10-40 rule because 10-codes were used long ago by police as shorthand in radio communication. The 1967 Association of Public Communication Officers (APCO) Project 2 defines 10-40 to mean a Silent run – no light or siren.

 

Back on September 23, 2019 I had blogged about arbitrary rules for How many words should be on a PowerPoint slide: 6, 12, 20, 25, 36, or 49?

 

The image of Lake Mead at Hoover Dam came from Wikimedia Commons.

 

Recent advice on using note (cue) cards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I looked up some advice about using note (cue) cards for presentations. One recent set of advice comes from a post by Rosemary Ravinal at The Master Communicator Blog on August 22, 2022 titled Eight ways to use note cards during a presentation. Another set of advice comes from an October 6, 2021 five-minute YouTube video by Ryan Guy titled 5 Tips for Using Note Cards During a Speech.

 

Rosemary’s eight ways are:

 

Pick the right-sized cards.

Write only what is essential.

Refrain from using your smartphone for notes.

Memorize the first ten seconds of your talk.

Print a copy of your presentation, just in case.

Resist the temptation to read verbatim.

Word of caution about virtual teleprompters.

Know when to turn the page.

 

As shown above, she suggests you either use 5.5”x8.5” cards (8.5”x11” sheets of card stock cut in half) or 4”x6” cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under Write only what is essential she says that:

 

“Short bullets can serve as the outline of your talk. Write down keywords to jog your memory and keep you from going astray. Are there numbers, statistics, and complex names that are necessary for your content to resonate? Write those down. Do not telegraph that you are using note cards. Glance gently at them and return your eyes to the audience right away. Hold your cards in your non-dominant hand. That way, when you speak and gesture, you are not fanning yourself with the cards and calling attention to them.”

 

Ryan instead advises that you use 3”x5” palm-sized cards. He suggests limiting yourself to five cards – introduction, three main points, and conclusion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both Rosemary and Ryan suggest numbering your cards. Why? As is shown above, Murphy’s Law means you might trip while stepping up to the stage or dais, and drop your cards. In a blog post on February 12, 2020 titled Using note cards confidently I suggested that you also chain or tie your cards together.

 

Another blog post by David Meerman Scott on July 29, 2020 titled Cue Cards in 2020: A powerful analog presentation tool adapted from the Apollo Lunar Program discusses using larger cards for Zoom presentations.  

 

Note (cue) cards are not the only way to keep track of a speech. Back on August 4, 2009 I blogged about Mind mapping and idea mapping for planning speeches. If you have a mind map, then you could leave it on the lectern to glance at as needed.   

 

The image of Rosa Di Belmonte holding a hand fan was adapted from one at Wikimedia Commons, as was a falling warning sign.

 

Costco is definitely not giving away $2000 TV sets just for filling out a survey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday I received the email shown above. It says I can get a Samsung QLED 8K UHD HDR Smart TV if I just will take a minute and answer a survey. But just a glance at the address reveals fraud - that email is NOT from COSTCO WHOLESALE. And the screen size for that TV is missing. 

 

When I looked at the Costco web site I found they only sold a 65” model for $1999. So I did not click the Answer Survey button, and give away my contact information.

Four persuasive hand gestures - and one to avoid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At The Huffington Post there is an article by Monica Torres on August 12, 2022 titled Try holding your hands like this if you want to be a persuasive speaker. She mentions these five hand gestures:

 

Holding your fingers in a precision grip [aka a ring or OK]

Holding up a number to correspond with what you are saying

Holding your hand over your heart

Moving both hands up and down as if a scale

Holding your hands palms up

 

For the first one, the ring or OK (as shown above), Monica explains:

 

“If you want to try incorporating just one hand gesture into your conversation, Clarke said the ‘precision grip’ or ‘the ring’ is one of the easiest to incorporate. It’s one she and other researchers analyzed in a separate study on common hand gestures that entrepreneurs use in a pitch to investors.

 

In this gesture, you bring your thumb and index or middle finger closer together to touch or almost touch. ‘It’s a way of pinching down to an idea,’ Clarke said, that signal to audience that ‘This is a key part of what I’m saying. This is where we need to be paying attention.’ ”

 

But you probably should NOT use that gesture. Wikipedia has both a List of gestures and a web page about the OK gesture. It cautions that the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) gave the Okay Hand Gesture its very own web page in their Hate on Display - Hate Symbols Database. An article by Bobby Allyn at NPR on September 26, 2019 is titled The ‘OK’ hand gesture is now listed as a symbol of hate.

 

In other countries the OK gesture is considered rude. An article by Meghan Jones in the Reader’s Digest on May 10, 2022 titled 10 Common hand gestures that are rude in other countries notes Brazil is one. Another article by David Anderson et al at Business Insider on January 5, 2019 titled 5 everyday hand gestures that can get you in serious trouble outside the US further explains:

 

“Making a circle with your thumb and your index finger is how to signal ‘OK’ in the US. But make the same gesture in Brazil, and you're giving the equivalent to the middle finger - the gesture has ‘insulting and scatological connotations,’ as the New York Times put it. Richard Nixon once raised some eyebrows in the 1950s when he made the gesture in Brazil as he stepped off a plane.”

 

How NOT to comment on one of my blog posts – by instead emailing me asking for a link to your commercial article

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On August 10, 2022 I received the following email about one of my blog posts from way back on  January 19, 2011 titled Will homeopathic silica reduce fear of public speaking? I have edited that email for clarity:

 

“Quick Question:

 

I noticed you shared an article from Wikipedia when you talked about water treatment methods here. I read the Wikipedia article, and I think it’s pretty good. However, we recently published an article  (blog post) by Michael Song at Glacierfresh Filter on April 26, 2022 titled How safe is your tap water? Everything you need to know that questions the effectiveness of current water treatment methods. 

 

There have been several cases worldwide where tap water was found unsafe. We cite the Flint water crisis in this article as an example. 

 

We also discuss the following issues in this article:

• The global water situation
• What's in your drinking water?
• How do you know if your water is safe?
• How can you protect yourself from unsafe drinking water?

 

Here is the article if you’d like to read it. I know it's a big request, but would you consider linking to our article? I think some of your readers would find it helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions, and thank you for your time.

 

Take care,

 

-Adam Carter”

 

But he didn’t bother to refer directly to that very old blog post from way back in 2011, just my monthly list of posts. And that post was mainly about homeopathy and fear rather than water treatment. He also had just generically referred to the English-language Wikipedia site rather than their Water Purification article. I’m not even sure if Mr. Carter is real, or just a bot. There is a very similar email here from March 22, 2021.

 

On June 17, 2016 I had already blogged about Explaining lead in drinking water and the Flint crisis. So, no, I am not going to link from my post to their article. Instead I will refer you to the YouTube video for Shania Twain’s song That Don’t Impress Me Much.

 

The cartoon old man at a computer I adapted is from here at Wikimedia Commons.

 

That podcast’s guest might be the show’s sponsor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would the host of a podcast pay a guest to appear? It might be the converse. An article by Ashley Carman on pages 13 and 14 in the August 8, 2022 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek is titled A podcast’s guest might be the show’s sponsor. You can read an online version from August 3, 2022 titled Podcast guests are paying up to $50,000 to appear on popular shows, which says:

 

“Welcome to the golden era of pay-for-play podcasting, when guests pay handsomely to be interviewed for an entire episode. In exchange, the host gets some revenue, fills out the programming calendar, and might bag a future advertiser.”

 

Radio shows also have to fill out their calendars. Back on November 5, 2014 I blogged about Coast to Coast AM – A conversation piece for insomniacs. They have to come up with four hours of content each night, and usually do so by getting authors of recent books to appear.

 

The image was assembled using a mic in hand and a wad of cash from Openclipart.

 

One way to classify and deal with your critics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I saw an article by Bill Abbate at Newsbreak on August 6, 2022 titled Dealing with critics. He illustrated it with his version of a 2x2 table originated by Ann Freidman in an undated article about online criticism on April 29, 2013 as The Disapproval Matrix. My PowerPoint color version is shown above. The vertical axis has IRRATIONAL and RATIONAL, the horizontal axis has people who DON’T KNOW YOU and KNOW YOU. (Freidman’s original has KNOW YOU at the left, and DON’T KNOW YOU at the right. Another article by Forrest Wickman at Slate on April 30, 2013 is titled “The Disapproval Matrix,” a handy chart for understanding your haters).

 

Don’t waste time paying much attention to your irrational critics – HATERS and FRENEMIES. Pay some attention to your rational CRITCS, and a lot of attention to to your LOVERS.

 

Back on December 20, 2016 I blogged about Bursting the overblown claim that 95% of Americans fear public speaking at some level. I got a HATER comment falsely accusing me of just writing ‘word salad’ (nonsense).

 

The University of Arkansas has a free ebook by Lynn Meade titled Advanced Public Speaking. Chapter 7 in it is all about Giving and receiving feedback: It is harder than you think.

 

A poignant song by Bonnie Raitt about a prison hospice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Down the Hall is the tenth, last song on Bonnie Raitt’s new album Just Like That. You can watch a lyric video of it on YouTube. She tells a poignant story backed by a lovely mixture of guitar and organ. An article by Tina Benitez-Eves at American Songwriter on June 9, 2022 titled Bonnie Raitt inspires on album ‘Just Like That’ explains:

“In May of 2018, Raitt was also affected by a story she read in The New York Times Magazine about a prison hospice program in Vacaville, California where inmates work as caregivers for fellow terminal convicts. Staggered by her reaction to the intimate photographs and stories of volunteers devoting their time to those incarcerated at the end of their lives, she wrote her own story on ‘Down the Hall,’ singing from the perspective of the caretakers: I asked if they let family in / She said not really at the end / Truth is a lot don’t have someone, no friends or next of kin / The thought of those guys going out alone, it hit me somewhere deep / I asked could go sit with them, for some comfort and relief.

‘I just immediately felt how many segregated, separated, polarized segments of our population out in society are reflected in microcosms in prisons,’ says Raitt. ‘Those pictures, without any explanation, were such a beautiful testimony of how the need of one human being to have compassion from another, and empathy, and care was just so moving. I’m moved by it now. I can barely sing those songs without getting touched again.’ ”

The image of a prison hall was cropped from one at Wikimedia Commons.

 

For the Idaho Freedom Foundation, the Idaho National Laboratory is the ‘elephant in the room’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) on July 20, 2022 there is an article by Wayne Hoffman titled Government “Investments” Hurt Real People, Delay Solutions. It begins by claiming:

 

“Whenever someone says government is going to ‘invest’ money toward a problem, remember the warning from the great economist Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, only tradeoffs.” 

 

 Two weeks later there is a press release from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) on August 3, 2022 instead titled Energy Secretary tours INL with focus on clean energy, national security capabilities. It states that:

 

“U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm made her first visit to Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Wednesday.

…. ‘INL’s clean energy and national security research will be critical to delivering on this Administration’s promise to make energy more secure, affordable, reliable and resilient for all Americans,’ Granholm said. ‘INL is pioneering emerging technologies, like advanced nuclear reactors, to harness the carbon-free nuclear power that will be essential to meeting President Biden’s climate goals. After my first in-person visit to INL, I’m confident that the bright minds here are securing our clean energy future and cementing our nation’s spot as a global leader in science and innovation.’ ” 

An article by Kyle Pfannenstiel in the Post Register on May 21, 2021 is titled Report: Idaho National Lab remains key state economic player. It stated:

“The nation’s lead nuclear energy research laboratory supported thousands of jobs last year, remaining a key player in Idaho’s economy as private operations injected nearly $2.9 billion into the state’s GDP, according to a report released last week.

Battelle Energy Alliance, a private contractor that runs day-to-day operations at Idaho National Laboratory, employed an average of more than 5,000 workers in 2020.

‘The economic impact that Battelle has on our city and our region is unquestionable, but their reach extends well beyond Idaho Falls,’ said Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper. 'They are one of the major economic drivers in our state and are constantly working to create relationships and foster small businesses all across Idaho.'

‘We feel really fortunate to have them in our community and to benefit from the global leadership that they demonstrate.’

Battelle has long been one of Idaho’s biggest job sources. It was the seventh-largest Idaho private employer and the 10th biggest employer overall last year in the Gem State, according to the latest figures. Employee compensation totaled more than $700 million in 2020.”

But IFF has consistently ignored discussing the Idaho National Laboratory. They are the ‘elephant in the room’ – a reality not acknowledged. Another INL press release on March 21, 2022 is titled Advanced Test Reactor Overhaul Complete: System Testing Underway to Resume Normal Operations. That reactor entered service back in 1967 (about 55 years ago). It is described by an INL web page and a Wikipedia page.

 

The image of an elephant was cropped from one by Carol Highsmith at the Library of Congress.

 

Getting my attention with a giant envelope

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the mail this morning, as shown above, there was a huge envelope from Fisher Investments. Inside there just was a two-page marketing letter on oversize (9-1/4” by 12-1/4”) paper rather than the standard 8-1/2” by 11.” It offered me a free guide with 99 Retirement Tips.

 

Their marketing ploy using unusual stationery succeeded in briefly getting my attention. Similarly, opening a speech by stating a Startling Statistic can wake up your audience.

 

I just shred most envelopes with personalized offers for life insurance without opening them. The only exception is AAA Life Insurance, which includes a useful page of self-adhesive return address labels.  

 

 

‘America First’ is a phrase over a century old

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On July 25, 2022 Donald J. Trump made a memorial statement:

 

“….A proud Marine, Mike Long knew how to fight with great spirit for the State that he loved, championing the campaigns of so many America First Warriors, long before the term ‘America First’ was even put forward by me.”

 

But that policy phrase is way older than he is. An article by Anna Diamond at Smithsonian on October 2018 titled The original meanings of the “American Dream” and “America First” were starkly different from how we use them today traces it back to a 1915 speech by Woodrow Wilson. Also, as shown above, it was the title for a 1916 march by John Philip Sousa (which you can listen to here).

 

And an article by David Emery at Snopes on February 9, 2018 titled Was ‘America First’ a slogan of the Ku Klux Klan? found it indeed was used by them back in the 1920s. Then, in 1940 there was the isolationist America First Committee. The December 6, 1941 issue of their Bulletin included a dismissive headline stating U.S. Interests Not at Stake in Japanese ‘Crisis.’ But the next morning was the attack on Pearl Harbor.

 

I got started on this topic by seeing an article by Scott Simon at NPR on July 23, 2022 titled ‘America First,’ invoked by Trump, has a complicated history.

 

How to get results with communication

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not everything good is out there on the internet. I was looking up articles about public speaking in the EBSCOhost databases via my local public library, which are available in the Libraries Linking Idaho (LiLI) Databases. I found an excellent four-page article by Robert D. Ramsey in the May 2022 issue of Supervision magazine (on pages 10 to 13) titled Achieving results with communication. Then I saw that was the third time it had been reprinted by them. It initially had appeared back in their March 2006 issue, and also was reprinted in the March 2018 and May 2019 issues. It has the following list of 20 Ways to communicate more effectively:

 

Say what needs to be said as plainly as possible 

    and as soon as you can possibly say it.

Be prepared.

Remember who you are talking to.

Stick to the truth.

Remember half-truths are also half-lies.

Check for understanding.

Don’t communicate when you are angry.

Be yourself.

Use examples.

Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself.

Remember Goldilocks.

Be consistent.

Don’t take cheap shots.

If you don’t know, say so.

Remember, shorter is better.

Give reasons for actions, not just policy references.

Know when to shut up.

Write like you talk.

Dare to be passionate.

Listen to yourself.

 

Dr. Ramsey has written a bunch of books, including How to Say the Right Thing Every Time (which you can find both at Amazon and Google Books). In that book he has an opposite list, titled The twenty biggest communication mistakes school leaders make and how to avoid them:

 

Overreliance on jargon

Walking on eggs

Bending over backward to be politically correct

Too much formality

Overgeneralization

Sermonizing

Obsfucation

Practicing dogmatism

Patronizing

Making empty threats

Whining

Grammatical or spelling errors

Lying and denying

Communication overload

Overuse of slanguage

Showing off

Being Cute

Using profanity

Overfamiliarization

Using sexual innuendos

 

The image was adapted from one at Wikimedia Commons

 

If you think that you are the smartest person in the room, then it is time to find yourself a bigger room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ran across a similar statement in an article by Solomon Timothy at Forbes on February 10, 2022 titled Why you never want to be the smartest person in the room. That sentiment was voiced repeatedly by James Watson, the molecular biologist who along with Francis Crick received the 1962 Nobel prize for proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule.

 

At Quote Investigator on February 21, 2019 Garson O’Toole has an article titled Never be the brightest person in the room: then you can’t learn anything. He mentions a version by Michael Dell in his Commencement Address at University of Texas, Austin 2003 which is:

 

“Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people … or find a different room. In professional circles it’s called networking. In organizations it’s called team building. And in life it’s called family, friends, and community. We are all gifts to each other, and my own growth as a leader has shown me again and again that the most rewarding experiences come from my relationships.”

 

Another variation can be found in an article by Niklas Goeke at Medium on June 30, 2020 titled Don’t be the smartest person in the room – stand next to them:

 

“The late Harold Ramis, known for playing Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters, once articulated it this way: ‘Find the most talented person in the room, and if it’s not you, go stand next to them. Hang out with them. Try to be helpful.’ ”

 

Similar sentiments were expressed by Dwight Eisenhower, who is quoted by Clifford Hudson on page 43 of the 2020 book Master of None as saying:

 

“Always try to associate yourself with, and learn as much as you can from, those who know more than you do, who do better than you, who see more clearly than you do.”

 

In the 2022 book Trust & Inspire by Stephen M. R. Covey et al, on page 250-1 they state at length these words of wisdom:

 

“Those who understand the need for speed and want to go fast often consider themselves the smartest in the room. They don’t have time for others, and they believe they have the skill set they need to accomplish the job by themselves. If they need other people, what they need is for those people to dependably do what they’re told. In a few cases, this might give them an edge, but there’s a price to it, and it’s not sustainable. And more often than not, it yields mediocre results.

 

Those who go far are those who go together. These people recognize that not one of us is smarter than all of us together. The collective ethos and knowledge of teams is what brings about true innovation and creativity. It’s what allows for better ideas, deeper understanding, and happier teams. Those who go far fast never think they are the smartest in the room, they depend on others being more capable than they are and bringing diverse thought and opinion to the team. They seek to work together to innovate – but they do it on the basis of trust, allowing them to go faster as they eliminate misunderstandings and hidden agendas while allowing people to focus on and contribute their greatest strengths. They produce better results in a faster and more effective way. They inspire each other to do their best work.”   

 

Conversely, an article by Dan Forbes at LinkedIn Pulse on March 5, 2015 is titled The Smartest Person in the Room Syndrome, which he acronyms as SPITR (pronounced spitter, and denoting negative behavior).  

 

Images of a sofa and chairs were adapted from Openclipart.