[tripzilch]

> “they do not speak any English, but they are sure from this presentation that you are very, very intelligent”

I kind of hope there's some nuance to this story and it didn't quite happened in the way you described.

If they think it's "polite" to let a person talk for an hour without understanding a word of it (while nodding and smiling), and then have the nerve to call it "intelligent", that's an insult to both the presentor and the concept of intelligence.

Cultural differences notwithstanding, the idea of "completely wasting someone's time while pretending to pay attention" shouldn't be too difficult to empathise with.

[Sebb767]

It's probably mixed with avoiding confrontation and thinking that the other people understand it. I'd assume that calling it intelligent didn't have a belittling tone, but rather a 'still awesome, sad I didn't understand it' one