Do people pretend not to know who people are in order to seem intelligent?

[coulditbeme2323]

Do people pretend not to know who people are in order to seem intelligent?

This question is prompted from reading comments online re The Met Gala?

Now let me prefix this by saying I have no interest in reality tv, Showbiz mags, etc - but surely there are some people who you know who they are because everybody does!

There were people saying "who" on a photo of Kim Kardashian. I have never seen an episode of the show, have no interest in her, but of course I know who she is - because how can you not?

Another British example is Jordan/Kate Price. No interest in her, but she has literally been headline news in The UK for 20 years. If you live in The UK - surely its impossible to not at least know who she is?

@UnaOfStormhold - I can recognise Brennan Lee Mulligan! I know who Matt Mercer is but I couldn't pick him out in a photo.

I'm very good at film actors from the 70s to the 2010s, although those with extensive 'work' in recent years sometimes throw me off because their face shapes have changed so much.

If they don't act, or don't appear on TV cookery shows then I probably don't recognise them. That's ok.

I don't expect everyone to be interested in Tommy Banks or Angela Harnett, and I'm not interested in footballers or pop stars. It's ok for people to have different interests.

I always thought the ‘who?’ was more a dig at the so called celebrity, in that they aren’t as famous/popular/important as they think they are. That not everyone is interested in what they do etc.

Also, I just had to google Met Gala. I thought it was to do with the Met Police… 🤣

Nope cannot name a single Taylor Swift song. Why would I? My musical taste is symphonic metal so she is not on my wavelength/I am not on her wavelength. I don't listen to the radio as I listen to my CD's in the car.

And yes I am on the internet on YouTube listening to music, but the music that comes up in my algorithms is not Taylor Swift

I know who she is but not really what she looks like. Katie price has changed a lot! I do watch tv but not reality tv

I don't know any Taylor Swift songs. Although I probably have heard some, I just don't know it's her singing. Have any of her songs been used in TV ads?

I do however know who eg Sigrid is, who probably appeals to a similar demographic, because I came across her stuff on YouTube and liked it. So it's not really an age thing, it's chance to some extent.

I know what you mean OP.
I worked with someone who claimed he had never heard of Coronation Street. I mean, I don't watch it either, but to claim you had never heard of it was just ridiculous and does demonstrate a lack of curiosity and awareness of current affairs, which I suspect was the exact opposite of what he was trying to demonstrate.
(This was in the 1990s when it was impossible to read any newspaper without Corrie being mentioned somewhere)

haha brilliant!

@PhaedraTwo I didn't say that no older people are interested in contemporary music, or indeed that no younger people like older artists - I think my DS and a few of his friends reduced the average age of the audience at last year's Santana gig in Glasgow quite considerably! 😂 But I'd be willing to bet that if you took all the people in Britain who couldn't name a Taylor Swift song there would be a bias to the older age group, plus I presume some who are too young. I'd guess there will be more people who don't know any of her music because they're the "wrong" age group than for any other single reason. Lots of us are genuinely unaware, rather than pretending we don't know much about her as a result of snobbery and I don't think that is as shocking as a PP seemed to consider it.

I know who Sigrid is. She appears in my YouTube "you might like this" - possibly because she cites Bonnie Raitt as an influence.

If anybody is saying "who" to Kim K they are definitely acting ignorant and probably are being obtuse, i think it just makes look silly when they act superior like that

I've heard her name and know she's famous for something, but not what.
I couldn't pick her out in a line-up

Nothing to do with intelligence no. I wouldn’t expect my DH would know who the Kardashians are but Katie Price yes as of the generation when she was gracing page 3 (in the same way I know who Sam Fox is). He’d recognise a footballer but I wouldn’t have a clue.

You’re doing better than me tbh I’ve never heard of Sigrid, but then I could list loads of of bands who are really familiar to my friends and I but I can guarantee OP would never have heard of (quite a few of which fill stadiums)

But how then do you know what Gemma Collins, Pete Wicks or Jamie Laing look like? I think I might recognise Pete Wicks but I certainly wouldn’t recognise Gemma Collins and was hazy about who she is (just googled her to find out), and as far as I can recall I have never heard of Jamie Laing and have no idea who he is. I’ve just asked my DH and he has never heard of any of them.

We just don’t read or watch the articles or programmes that presumably would lead us to know about these people, though we both read two newspapers daily and watch news and politics programmes. I do enjoy some "reality" programmes, e.g. I love Below Decks, Traitors, Masterchef.

I don’t think this is either praiseworthy or blameworthy - just a fact. Different people have different interests. I'm not interested in football so there are very few footballers I would recognise - probably only Harry Kane. DH is interested in football so he would recognise a lot of them.

You have a lot of expectations of people you don't know.

I know the "big names" of film, sport, music etc. But I wouldn't have a clue who any reality star was if they appeared in front of me, I regularly have to Google who someone is if someone at work mentions them, or they are on House of Games or something that we might watch with dinner.

We genuinely don't want much TV and try to avoid the celebrity "news" because no one is this house cares about that stuff. We also mostly avoid watching/reading the real world news because it's depressing. We just focus on our own little bubble. Not to seem intelligent or cool or anything, only to make ourselves happy.

Don't expect people to be the same as you, or to notice the same things as you. I once mentioned the name of someone massive in motorsport to my team at work, and not a single person knew who he was. Then the next topic of conversation was about some celebrity I hadn't heard of. People only take in things they want to.

Seriously I'm not sure I'd know Kim K definitely would Katie price though.

To be fair, Katie Price looks completely different to how she looked at the height of her fame. They might genuinely not recognise her

My brother is a bit of a snob when it comes to celebs.

If i even mention harry styles or anyone he does the whole feigned 'who'. But he actually pretends he doesnt know and then scoffs.

I mean i am not a fan of harry styles i dont dislike him either, i know he exists . I just happened to mention his name as it was applicable to the conversation we were having. I dont need scoffed at about it.

Seems you have wrong expectations.

Seems the celeb business managed to persuade you that it is more impactful than it really is.

People are generally ignorant, why should the pop culture be an exception?

My problem would be they change their look so often I wouldn't necessarily recognise either of them

It obviously says nothing about intelligence.

I would not recognise Kim Kardashian. You ask ‘how could you not’ know who she is: easy - I don’t watch celeb TV (only shows on streaming platforms) and I am not on social media (except MN and some specific interest Facebook groups). I also don’t buy magazines.
So when would I ever see pictures of her? Never.

I do not feel superior or intelligent, in fact I feel quite ignorant and out of touch.

ETA: I’ve also just googled Katie Price and I wouldn’t recognise her either. She looks nothing like the ‘Jordan’ I remember from 2002.

I'm the same - see the names about but couldn't identify which one is which. I have however been know to partake of a Katie Price reality show and I watched all the Netflix Beckham and Ramsey stuff.

I wouldn't be able to pick her out of a line up but don't believe it's because l'm intelligent

I wouldn’t know who she is, I have zero interest in famous people like that and hardly watch tv so wouldn’t have a clue … doesn’t make me ignorant or obtuse !

It’s hilarious that being able to pick Kim Kardashian’s out of a line up has turned in this thread into some kind of evidence you’re (1) not an intellectual snob and (2) down with the kids.

Surely it’s a sign that we all read/watch/see/hear different things? It’s personal experience, not intelligence.