[gknoy]

"There are some problems with your approach, and it could bite you in the tail when you least expect it. Here's what you should also know: ... (rest of GP's points)"

This avoids saying "You're an idiot", which is nearly never constructive or helpful, and instead makes education and cooperation its goal. Most people respond better to that.

[laichzeit0]

Sometimes people need to know they're idiots without the person calling them an idiot having to tip-toe around the issue. Just like how some children are smarter than others and could actually benefit from ring labeled as such, put in a separate environment and given advanced problems to work on instead of lumping them with the rest of the herd. Just like fat people should be told they're fat and pay a premium for a seat on an airplane. Hell, if you look fat they should put you on a goddamn cattle scale and make you pay extra.

[kordless]

Without fully knowing what a person is thinking (and I'm talking in whole here), and the context they are thinking it in, it is impossible to always determine if what someone said is "idiotic" or not, much less be capable of determining if they themselves are an idiot. Given this provable fact, that means there exists a possibility someone ends up calling a savant an idiot for saying something that is viewed by them, or a group as a whole, as "idiotic".

[laichzeit0]

And I'd wager to say that by and far the more likely possibility is that the person is actually an idiot. Just given that savants are an extremely small subset of the general population and if the bell curve is anything to go by, at least 50% of all people are below average intelligence (whether inherently stupid or uneducated doesn't matter, from a pragmatic point of view the result is the same)

[joslin01]

Geez, this is still going on. You apparently have no problem calling people an idiot and seem to be defending it, so let me show you the same courtesy. People like you are what's wrong with the HN community. You're the type that when I post something sarcastic, I get downvoted and corrected. Why? It's this kind of superiority complex that can't see the forest from the trees to save its life. The forest is burning? Yes, but we passed brown 3 trees which means it shouldn't be. Are you sure it wasn't 2? No, definitely 3. I don't believe you, let's debate it. Burned to death. I would be careful in forests if I were you. (<-- I doubt you recognize what this tone of voice is)

Who the fuck cares? Why are you debating if you should call someone an idiot or not? My personal philosophy is to be nice to others, always because I don't know what they're going through. What's there to be gained by not only calling someone an idiot but defending it on the meta scale? Yes we should always cloak our rebuttals with negativity -- for what other way could there be?! I must call this person an idiot, don't you see?! 50% of people are below average intelligence -- surely I must let them be aware of the fact that I believe they're mundane and forgettable!

I don't care if other people think poorly of me, I'm going to believe in myself... you critics are so annoying. I can't even write a comment trying to help people without jackasses flying in poking holes in what I said AS IF it were gospel! It's a comment! I wrote it in 2 seconds and, sure, maybe I should have put some more time into it but I was just trying to help out anyone who got scared by that list. It's such a different mindset. I didn't set out to be RIGHT, which is what's most holy & sacred around these parts. The best thing that could have happened is some people would have been like, yea but how is X going to solve Y when Z happens? And I woulda been like, good question mate, blah blah and we woulda all been better off.

Instead, a kid comes flying in drunk on keyboard ego and is like "You should stop talking"; think about MY intention vs HIS intention. Think about the INTENTION behind calling someone an idiot and what it does to that person. So stupid.. honestly. There's a bigger picture at play than being right or wrong... You don't do certain things not because it's empirically correct to do it, but because it's the moral thing to do or the mature thing to do or the compassionate thing to do.