Some really mostly-good advice from Derek Sivers:
Being smart means thinking things through – trying to find the real answer, not the first answer.
Being stupid means avoiding thinking by jumping to conclusions.Jumping to a conclusion is like quitting a game : you lose by default.
That’s why saying “I don’t know” is usually smart, because it’s refusing to jump to a conclusion.
So when someone says “They are so stupid!” – it means they’ve stopped thinking. They say it to feel finished with that subject, because there’s nothing they can do about that. It’s appealing and satisfying to jump to that conclusion.
So if you decide someone is stupid, it means you’re not thinking, which is not being smart.
Therefore: smart people don’t think others are stupid.
This is probably the better way to go through life. Usually the “they are so stupid” comments are epithets said in haste, not well reasoned thoughts. Avoiding that reaction is something to work at.
But, there are truly stupid people out there. And, there are reasonably intelligent people who almost continuously do stupid things. It’s something you have to deal with, but it’s not something you have to get distraught over. Recognize those that are actually stupid, and work not to rely on them too much.
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The problem with the tactic is it works very well with those who have self esteem issues. This is encouraging to us who have been called stupid.