At least in the software engineering world, I think a very common one is NIH, the idea that we can do it better, which almost never works out in experience.
It's a double-edged sword, really; on one side, taking a step back and putting off the project currently undertaken can give one a clearer perspective of the subject at hand, providing a fresh take on it, in some way(s) previously not even crossed one's mind.
On the other side, all too often it paves the path to development hell--be it due to the neverending quest for holy grail/unicorn of your project (if you're leaning to being a perfectionist), or eating lotus by indulging on various diversions to entertain your boredom (if you're more of a slacker like me). Or, god forbid, both.
Conflating negativity/criticism/pessimism with intelligence.
Making a declaration about viability of software based on its present state (youtube will never work they'll get sued), (bitcoin will never work because it can't scale), instead of predicting the viability of a future iteration of it.
Nitpicking someone's communication/word choice/edge case instead of focusing out what they were trying to convey
Procrastinating on an assigned task because you think you can do things faster than everyone else. It's a trap that I fell into often. Nearing the shipping date, I found myself scrambling to finish the task wishing I had started earlier. The learning: Even if you're faster at doing things, underestimating unknown unknowns is going to be detrimental in the end. It's better to start sooner. There's a good article that covers this hazard[1]
Smart people can be impatient and can be short on virtues other people have, like persistence. They often expect things to come easily and will give up quickly if they don't.
They can be prone to thinking that if someone disagrees with them, the person is just stupid or doesn't know enough. It can be very challenging to get smart people from very different domains to collaborate effectively because both sides may throw their hands up quickly and assume the other side is just dumb.
Getting smart people with very different world views to really communicate in a meaty and respectful fashion can be challenging. Both sides may be quick to dismiss the other as both wrong and stupid.
This is less software-related, but one trap smart folks can fall into is being afraid to seem not smart. Like let's say an authority figure is trying to do something that doesn't feel right to you, and you say something about it. And then Mr. Authority Figure says, "Come now, be reasonable or be rational." The fear of being perceived as "irrational" may stop you from standing up for yourself or someone else.
On a similar note, "fear of not looking smart" can make it hard to ask a question. Often when I'm in a meeting and they're going deep into some technical thing I don't understand, I (nowadays) assume that everybody else is confused, too, and I ask the question. And then once I do, everyone else relaxes and follows up. But until that ice is broken, we're all sweating bullets trying to look like we get something we literally do not understand at all.
a: assuming everyone around them is as smart as they are and unintentionally losing people in conversations by skipping over logical leaps they think everyone can make.
b: assuming everyone around them is as NOT smart as they are and unintentionally condescending to the ones who are.
c: assuming they never play the other guy in scenario a.
Developers who think that launching a successful startup involves just writing a bunch of code and then the money will come flooding in. With the exception of a few outliers this is simply not true, you need marketing, business development, support, netwoking, accounting.
Speaking as a developer who believed this myself for too long
There is a concept called "fluency illusion" which everyone is susceptible to, which is when you are passively flipping through a book on some topic, and you say: yeah, I know this, I know this too, yeah yeah, I got this. And then you are stopped and asked a question about the material and it's like: gulp. Shit.
Everyone falls victim to this, but I think smart people can be especially prone.
One thing I see a lot with fellow students is the following mentality:
"I don't need to spend a lot of time studying for X because I can figure it out when I need too" or similarly "I don't feel like learning about X right now but I know I could do it on the test when I need to"
I think that sort of thinking is a classic trap smart students can fall into but often fail to correct. Often, these students can get by in High School and first two years of undergrad but often fall hard in upper division courses. I saw one of my closest friends, who I consider to be much smarter than myself, fail an entire semester of 300 and 400-division courses because he didn't put in the work needed despite having a 3.6+ GPA in our Universities physics program.
I would say that one is tying your self worth to your (coding) skills. Ironically once I got out of this mindset, my coding got arguably much better. Shit takes time yo, code hard and enjoy your bad code, it’s gonna get somewhat better eventually.
Trying to use data to directly measure things that are better suited to intuitive understanding. Smart people often take for granted that the human brain is still far better at recognizing patterns than it is at mathematical modeling, and the human brain is still many orders of magnitude more powerful than any computer. Data-driven approaches are great for some domains, but are still poorly-suited for others.
Common manifestations of this trap include using code coverage metrics to decide where to write tests and using measurements like cyclomatic complexity to decide when to refactor code.
That reminds me of discussions about whether it's better to rent or buy housing... who's to say that it isn't smarter (for some people) to choose to work for someone else? What if working for yourself required you to do things like hire and manage employees?
I spent a few years working for myself and it sucked. Running a business was tedious, stressful, and unrewarding. I'd much rather work for someone else, so I can focus on doing the work I'm actually good at.
I feel one of the larger flaws is there are distinct attributes of intelligence so while people may be smart in one way they can be very ordinary in others. This can lead to people making decisions on areas better deferred or advised from others. Though this can as much be due to personal confidence as much as intelligence.
Stock market education, stock market tips and stock market signals... Scammers are making millions out of well educated people... A lot of investigations into the dark world:
Distraction and procrastination. I'm not sure I'm smart enough to qualify for your "smart people" designation, but those are two ailments that are affecting me. :) Perhaps being smart is being not easily distracted, then I'm very dumb.
[+] [-] RickS|8 years ago|reply
Wash the damn dishes, literally and figuratively.
[+] [-] widyowid|8 years ago|reply
It's a double-edged sword, really; on one side, taking a step back and putting off the project currently undertaken can give one a clearer perspective of the subject at hand, providing a fresh take on it, in some way(s) previously not even crossed one's mind.
On the other side, all too often it paves the path to development hell--be it due to the neverending quest for holy grail/unicorn of your project (if you're leaning to being a perfectionist), or eating lotus by indulging on various diversions to entertain your boredom (if you're more of a slacker like me). Or, god forbid, both.
[+] [-] 0x4f3759df|8 years ago|reply
Making a declaration about viability of software based on its present state (youtube will never work they'll get sued), (bitcoin will never work because it can't scale), instead of predicting the viability of a future iteration of it.
Nitpicking someone's communication/word choice/edge case instead of focusing out what they were trying to convey
[+] [-] potta_coffee|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] shubhamjain|8 years ago|reply
[1]: http://bookofhook.blogspot.in/2013/03/smart-guy-productivity...
[+] [-] Mz|8 years ago|reply
They can be prone to thinking that if someone disagrees with them, the person is just stupid or doesn't know enough. It can be very challenging to get smart people from very different domains to collaborate effectively because both sides may throw their hands up quickly and assume the other side is just dumb.
Getting smart people with very different world views to really communicate in a meaty and respectful fashion can be challenging. Both sides may be quick to dismiss the other as both wrong and stupid.
[+] [-] htwillie|8 years ago|reply
Believing that smart = right, thus, less smart = less right.
[+] [-] Arete3141|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Arete3141|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hkmurakami|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] steanne|8 years ago|reply
b: assuming everyone around them is as NOT smart as they are and unintentionally condescending to the ones who are.
c: assuming they never play the other guy in scenario a.
[+] [-] thisisit|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] malux85|8 years ago|reply
Speaking as a developer who believed this myself for too long
[+] [-] superplussed|8 years ago|reply
Everyone falls victim to this, but I think smart people can be especially prone.
[+] [-] benjohnson|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jmt_|8 years ago|reply
"I don't need to spend a lot of time studying for X because I can figure it out when I need too" or similarly "I don't feel like learning about X right now but I know I could do it on the test when I need to"
I think that sort of thinking is a classic trap smart students can fall into but often fail to correct. Often, these students can get by in High School and first two years of undergrad but often fall hard in upper division courses. I saw one of my closest friends, who I consider to be much smarter than myself, fail an entire semester of 300 and 400-division courses because he didn't put in the work needed despite having a 3.6+ GPA in our Universities physics program.
[+] [-] adamnemecek|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] syncerr|8 years ago|reply
Smart people will end up working with equally intelligent people to the point where they're no longer "smarter", they're now just average.
[+] [-] iEchoic|8 years ago|reply
Common manifestations of this trap include using code coverage metrics to decide where to write tests and using measurements like cyclomatic complexity to decide when to refactor code.
[+] [-] jefflombardjr|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|8 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] sd_sangit|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] blacksmith_tb|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] marssaxman|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Gustomaximus|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] SirLJ|8 years ago|reply
https://www.tradingschools.org/
[+] [-] bjourne|8 years ago|reply