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Thanks for this. I think you may have hit the nail on the head here. I do think I need to continue my own growth though from people I consider more knowledgable than myself. It's just been my go-to for that has been books rather than those around me. But, your post rings totally true man. Thanks for your perspective.
Jeremy Falcon
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some additional points to this below
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Jeremy Falcon wrote: I do think I need to continue my own growth though from people I consider more knowledgable than myself
Perhaps you need to continue your own growth by figuring out new things out for yourself. Don't just try to find someone to feed you knowledge, go out there and make some for the rest of us.
And have you used your vast intelligence to help those around you learn and understand things? That's a skill all in itself -- how to teach people at a rate and level they can grasp, without putting them off, and without installing yourself on a pedestal as The Expert.
We can program with only 1's, but if all you've got are zeros, you've got nothing.
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You know you're absolutely correct. After thinking about it over the weekend, I've come to realize I'm just in a toxic environment and my weaknesses have shown because of it. So, I very well may just have to change environments and try again, so I can start being a good person. Anyway, your post is spot on.
Jeremy Falcon
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You're very welcome. 
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ronlease wrote: Being the smartest guy could mean that you're completely delusional. Or it could also mean you're truly in a position to mentor somebody else. Believe me, you can learn even more by teaching / mentoring / coaching / whatever.
I can confirm it. Training the new co-workers in previous company was sometimes totally challenging me, how to explain that so obvious for me in a way that they understood it.
You might not learn more technologically speaking (although you still do it) but what you do learn is social competence, how to communicate better and other staff that maybe will not increase your knowledge but your wisdom and make it a not a smarter but a better person
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.
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I believe you are correct sir.
Jeremy Falcon
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/ravi
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Booze. ![Beer | [beer]](https://codeproject.global.ssl.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/beer.gif) Enough of it to bring yourself down to everybody else's level.
At that point you won't care anymore.
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Jeremy Falcon
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Two safe bets:
0. You can't do all the things I do really well as well as I can do them.
1. I can't do all the things you do really well as well as you can do them.
Ergo:
0. According to my standards, you're stupid.
1. According to your standards, I'm stupid.
If you believe can do your job better or more effectively than colleagues who do the same job:
0. You might be wrong, because you're judging based on the elements of the job that you do well, and not those that you do less well -- and which of these is more important is not your decision to make.
1. You might be right, in which case, ask for a raise.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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I get what you're saying, and I appreciate it. Thanks for the advice.
Jeremy Falcon
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Jeremy Falcon wrote: what do you guys do, when faced with a situation where you feel it's impossible to grow intellectually because of the environment?
IMHO, that's a clear signal to move on and seek a position where you will be technically challenged and have the ability to grow. I don't know in what part of the US you're located, but positions like these can readily be found in Silicon Valley, New England and the Seattle area. Of course, they're not limited to these locales, but you're likely to find more choice in these areas.
/ravi
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I'm in the Los Angeles area. And it's not even just technical challenges I'm after... people skills, management skills, anything really I'd like to grow in.
Jeremy Falcon
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Sorry Jeremy I can't help you, I have almost always known I am not the smartest person in the room. I work with some absolutely brilliant minds, the MD also has ability to locate and hire other brilliant minds so I get to see some of them work.
The only thing I bring to the table is experience and the desire to not take any crap from bureaucracy.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Then you are a lucky man.
Jeremy Falcon
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Mycroft Holmes wrote: The only thing I bring to the table is experience and the desire to not take any crap from bureaucracy.
And that is already a good apportation.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Jeremy Falcon wrote: Surely, someone on CP has faced this too?
I'll take a stab at this. I've been on both sides of the fence, feeling like the people I'm working with are little better than zombies, and also experiencing people who can think circles around me.
In both situations, I often choose patience. Patience with them, patience with me. And it is NOT easy--I think patience is one of the hardest skills to learn.
What's really interesting though, and this brings me to my second point, is when you're in a room full of basically smart people in their own way, but you know damn well that each of them is performing the equivalent of mental bowel movements at their own pace. Or, less colorful, "digestion." This is an important thing to consider, because everyone digests at a different rate -- taking in the useful information, discarding the non-essential. And to make it worse, the essential and non-essential is different for every person.
Oh yeah, my second point -- communication. The funny thing is, those people that can run circles around me, well, they actually struggle with communication often enough, just as I struggle with communication when I'm running circles around other people. So that's the second hardest skill to learn and requires skill in the first. The patience to communicate clearly.
And the third point is, it's a total waste of energy comparing yourself to others. You are both unique and different (I'll skip the BS talk about everyone having different "gifts" and "everyone has different talents" which in my opinion is BS because so few people actually really reach their talent potential.) Sooo....
Jeremy Falcon wrote: What do you guys do when you clearly know you see things clearer but you're alone in that regards?
I look at myself (depending on my mood) and accept the challenge to communicate what I think I see so clearly with the patience necessary to wait for others to see it. And the funny thing is, by communication, I actually mean listening, because in order to figure out what, often enough (I'm quite serious) needs to be said in about 10 words and 10 seconds (as opposed to this post) is the result of intense listening to learn where the other person is struggling and to get into their mindset / digestive process.
And when I realize what that is, it's like freaking magic. It's an awesome experience for everyone when the room suddenly phase aligns into a single synchronous wave of understanding. And getting there is so worth it.
The cynic in me doesn't say I'm more gifted or you're more gifted, the cynic starts off with the premise that we're all retarded, and the challenge is to figure out how to bridge the gap between my particular retardation and your particular retardation.
It's a matter of perspective. Do you want to focus on the two people standing on the opposite sides of a chasm, or do you want to focus on the bridge that needs to be built between them?
Damn, I should turn that into a feely-goody business slogan!
Marc
Latest Article - Merkle Trees
Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
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 Pity I can only vote 5
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Nelek wrote: Pity I can only vote 5
Well, thanks! 
Marc
Latest Article - Merkle Trees
Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
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So Jeremy, I posted a reply somewhere a bit ago, but Marc, your reply is spot on. BTW Marc, thanks for the countless articles and contributions to this community.
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I read it man. It was a good reply. Thanks again for it.
Jeremy Falcon
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Marc, you know I like you, and for a good reason... you're spot on man. Upon careful reflection over the weekend it simply just dawned on me I'm in a toxic environment. People are moody and angry and negligent here, and over the past year I've quite simply fell into that trap myself. It's bad juju man. I don't want to become that, and my weaknesses have exasperated because of this.
Jeremy Falcon
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