Some people mistake knowledge for intelligence

Cellini so important that it's listed twice.

Cellini so important I never heard of it in my life.

My guy hasn't even read his own list.

I'm a woman with a STEM PhD, and several of the guys I've dated have decided to prove they are smart enough to date me by looking up my publications from grad school (20 years ago now), reading them, and then trying to impress me by trying to poke holes in them or otherwise making me defend them on the spot.

That tactic is now an instant method to get me to end contact. It betrays a deep insecurity with my having expertise greater than theirs on any topic, even ones I have decades of work in. No Jimmy, you can't become my peer by reading a few papers. I don't think you are dumb, but I'm not spending time with you to massage your ego about your insecurity. Byyyye

Bare minimum for holding a conversation: don't be like this guy

Bare minimum to enjoy a beer around a campfire: ACDC, Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, White Stripes, Dire Straits, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Kenny Loggings, Gorillaz, Jefferson Airplane, The Animals, Bon Jovi, R.E.M, Bonnie Tyler, Eminem, 50, System of a Down, Rage against the Machine, Rob Zombie, Nirvana, Papa Roach, Tenacious D, Dorothy, Floggin Molly, The Subways, Bush, Disturbed, Wolfmother, Guns and Roses, Scorpions, ZZ Top, Armand van Helden, Die Antwoord, Billy Idol, Fleetwood Mac, Ram Jam, Eagels of Death Metal, deadmau5, Foreigner, Daniel Norgen, The Weekend, Cari Cari, Shakira, Cher, Gaga, Rihanna, Michael, Prince

"Guy who keeps a Rubiks cube in a display stand on his desk at work so he can explain it's not that hard to solve them" energy.

Why Cellini twice? Also, this guy sounds like a real douche canoe

You wrote Cellini twice, idiot.

Bare minimum for holding a conversation: Cézanne, Renoire, Rembrandt, van Eyck, David, Vermeer, Fragonard, Turner, Courbet, Matisse, Kahlo, Picasso, Basquiat, Richter

hey look, i can gatekeep my special interest, too! 🤦

I'm sorry do we have medieval Italian political satirists on the table for basic conversion? the crazy thing is, I've read books by all the individuals mentioned, and most of it is very old, and very specific to it's time, and largely entertainment. this is like someone 500 years from now saying they can't hold a conversation with someone if they don't have a deep familiaity with the deeper meanings of The Simpsons and Family Guy and how they impacted society.

Cool for him that he has a special interest

Meanwhile, I imagine the actual historians and scholars who study and teach of the classical world professionally rarely feel the need to drop lists like this.

Minimum women authors/thinkers required to be familiar with: 0.

It's edumacated, not edumacted. Get it rite!

I used to have a friend like this. He was always acting like a condescending prick to everyone for not knowing as much about his favorite books.

I don't talk to him any more.

Big Dictionary Energy

Hopefully in 10 years, he will read this and cringe, although it sounds like he’s actively driving away people who think differently and would call him out on his bullshit to help him grow as a person, so maybe not.

Most of those topics were taught/mentioned in highschool. Does he want a freshly graduated person - bc no way anyone who is not in humanities would retain it long term....

I have an advanced degree. I don’t think I know/nor do I want to know everything. But I’m an expert in my field. Outside of that, I like to consume fluffy, shallow media. Because my work is very hard with high burnout and depression, I can’t be super serious all the time. So, I have stayed single after my marriage because it was always “you think you know everything” variants any time I engaged in logic. I don’t want to be run down by people who are supposed to care. I haven’t read classics that often because I simply find them way less interesting than watching JJK. So it’s like being trapped in this space of super serious or super aggrieved potential mates, and as I’m getting older…dying alone is my only sane option.

I thought this attitude that the "classics" were what made you intelligent and worthy went out of fashion some time in the 50s... guess it still has its holdouts

Surely at least one of these people created something about not being a pretentious asshole?

I'm pretty sure this guy learned nothing from them.