I have a disdain for "spoon fed" intellectuals. To clarify, I don't like the mentally lazy. The people that don't take the time to research the topic in which they proclaim knowledge. Be it economics, climate change, the "poor" or what have you, they regurgitate the talking points of some op-ed that they've read.
I don't know if you can actually call tweeting someone a conversation, a twitversation maybe, but I had recommended Frederick Bastiats Essays on Political Economy to someone I thought had some intellectual integrity. The first thing this person responds with is a link to an opinion that thought Bastiats ideas were fantasy. That's an example of mentally lazy. Think of it this way, on Friday you ask your friend to watch a movie you thought was decent. On Monday when you ask them of their thoughts they state that they hadn't seen the movie but they thought it to be second rate and as proof of their higher opinion, they show you a review from a film critic.
I have tried different ways of having people actually do "their homework". On the rare occasion you just have to make the other person truly believe that they've stumped you. When they ask a question, completely blow the answer and say "I could be wrong so look it up". That "prove me wrong" method is only effective if you are correct most of the time. The main purpose is to get someone to become more reliant on themselves and less on "spoon fed" intellect. In other words, let them win from time to time.
Of course, there are some folks out there that play dumb just for the sake of it, there are people admit they are dumb because of a lack of research, or those that are dumb because of birth defects. To be honest, I put the retarded in higher esteem than the mentally lazy.
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