Hacker News Reader

The conclusion was inescapable: the problem wasn't Perl or C++ or Java, it was me. I just wasn't a very good programmer any more. Lisp's power had made me complacent, and the world had passed me by.

Lisp can't help you if you're too smug for your own good.

Disclaimer: I'm a Lisper.

View on HN

See http://wiki.c2.com/?SmugLispWeenie for an in depth view of the phenomenon.

Non-English speaker.

What does "smug" mean?

Via Google's dictionary: having or showing an excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements.

It means "smartass".

Not quite. "Smartass" generally implies you go around showing off your (perceived) knowledge. "Smug" implies you sit quietly in a corner feeling good about your (perceived) knowledge.

Also smug is less specific than knowledge, it's more about thinking you're better (in some or all ways) or more well achieved. The opposite of humble.

I would say that smugness has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with attitude.

I have seen people being smug that they know nothing about a given subject.

That is smugness is almost exclusively about “thinking you're better…”.

If someone thinks they have more knowledge, or thinks they have achieved more; it is easier for them to become smug in that belief. People can also become smug even if they know that neither is true.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com