We’ve all met those people. The ones who walk around thinking they’re the smartest person in the room. When, honestly, they’re not even close. The coworker who confidently gives terrible advice. The friend who lies so smoothly you’d swear they rehearsed it. The random internet genius who knows everything except the actual facts. The ones proudly sprinting around with a full-blown Dunning-Krueger effect. And people like these seem harmless, but they are not at all. And believe it or not, we’re not the first to notice how dangerous, stupid, noisy, confused people can be.
The 19th century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer felt exactly the same way. He believed that unnecessary noise, whether literal noise or the noise of foolish people, is the enemy of deep thought. In his essay on noise, he even wrote that noise is the most impertinent of all interruptions. To him, nothing revealed human stupidity more clearly than how easily people accept or create pointless noise and distraction.
This concern lies at the heart of the argument that follows.
What follows is an examination of why distancing oneself from foolishness is not rude at all.
This distinction is worth examining carefully.
Noise and the Mind
Schopenhauer had a very interesting observation. He believed that a person’s relationship with noise reveals a lot about their intelligence. He noticed that some people can sit in the middle of pure chaos. Loud chatter, blaring TV, non-stop distractions and feel completely unbothered. And according to him, that wasn’t a sign of a calm mind. It was a sign of a dull one.
In his essay on noise, he writes that those who happily tolerate constant noise do so because it is precisely these people who are not sensitive to argument, thought, poetry, or art. In short, to any kind of intellectual impression. In other words, if someone can live in never-ending noise, it’s usually because they’re not thinking deeply to begin with. Silence threatens them because silence demands depth.
Schopenhauer even used everyday street sounds as metaphors for stupidity. He absolutely hated the loud cracking of whips on city streets. He called it a truly infernal sound. Just one sharp noise, he said, is enough to shatter the concentration of a hundred thinking minds. The same way one foolish outburst from a thoughtless person can derail your entire focus.
He put it bluntly.
“Nothing gives me so clear a grasp of the stupidity and thoughtlessness of mankind as the tolerance of the cracking of whips.”
For him, unnecessary noise was more than a sound. It was a symptom of shallow thinking. And that leads to one of his most famous lines.
“Noise is the most impertinent of all interruptions.”
It not only interrupts our own thoughts, but disperses them.
Even the small repetitive noises that some people ignore — tapping, chatter, mindless background chaos — act like weights on your mind. The more tuned in and intelligent you are, the more these things disrupt your inner world. And the more hollow your mind is, the less you even notice.
Company Shapes Thought
Schopenhauer believed that the people we surround ourselves with shape not only our worldview but also our level of thinking. He once made a sharp sarcastic remark. Men of very great capacity find the company of very stupid people preferable to that of the common run.
At first it sounds strange. Why would a highly intelligent person prefer fools? But Schopenhauer was being ironic. Sometimes brilliant people feel so disconnected from ordinary society that they’d rather be around simple-minded people who pose no challenge, no rivalry, and no pressure. It’s like a tyrant who enjoys the approval of a mindless crowd, or a grandfather who relaxes with his grandchildren. The environment is easy, harmless, and non-competitive.
But outside of this sardonic observation, most wisdom traditions say the opposite. Seek wise company. The Bible expresses it clearly in Proverbs 13:20. Walk with the wise and become wise. For a companion of fools suffers harm.
Wisdom is contagious. Spend time around thoughtful, intelligent people and you naturally rise to their level. Spend time with fools and you begin to mirror their foolish habits. King Solomon made it even more direct in Proverbs 26:4.
“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.”
This is exactly why Schopenhauer warned that foolish company drags you downward. He also pointed out that shallow minds naturally flock to shallow content. In his words,
“The man who writes for fools always finds a large public.”
People who aren’t seeking wisdom will always be drawn to trivial entertainment, drama, or noise. And if you immerse yourself in that environment, you get swept along with it.
This is why many great thinkers throughout history lived in solitude or kept only a very small circle of friends. Schopenhauer himself never married and openly said he preferred to remain alone rather than be tied to people who drained his spirit. He knew that staying surrounded by fools weakens the mind.
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Another danger lies in engagement itself.
Sometimes fools seek to draw others into their folly. Maybe it’s the office clown, the loud gossip, or the armchair philosopher with conspiracy theories. Whatever form it takes, engaging with them is a trap. As Schopenhauer and others warn, trying to reason with someone obstinately stupid is futile and harmful. In fact, answer not a fool according to his folly, because in doing so, you may become like him yourself.
Every heated debate with a fool only wastes your time and poisons your peace of mind. It’s like diving into a swamp of nonsense. You’ll come out muddy and nowhere closer to truth. Foolish arguments tire your brain. Debates with the willfully ignorant are endless and circular. And then there’s emotional contagion. Fools often complain, gripe, or rant. Spending too long around that negativity can make you anxious or angry, too.
Human moods spread through social contact, and being around the wrong people makes it easy to catch their stupidity or negativity like a cold. There’s also the risk to your reputation. If you align yourself too closely with foolish company, others may judge you by association. A wise person’s circle is often scrutinized by peers and employers. So, it’s important to choose people you’d be proud to have at your side.
This is why many great minds throughout history have warned against debating or mingling too deeply with fools. Mark Twain put it humorously but accurately.
“Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.”
Whether or not he said it exactly that way, the message reflects Schopenhauer’s spirit. Don’t waste your intellect on stubborn ignorance. Save your energy for pursuits that actually matter.
Schopenhauer himself thanked fate for an epig by Avi that came to him in his youth and became a guiding star. Translation:
“Read zealously the ancients, the true, the eternal old. What the new say about them doesn’t mean much.”
His friend, the poet Brentano, translated it for him. The lesson is simple. Ignore the noise of mediocre thinkers and value the voices of the great.
The final consequence concerns solitude and inner life.
Schopenhauer’s worldview ultimately prized solitude and inner peace. He wrote,
“A man is great or small according as he leans to one or the other of these views of life. The serious versus the transcendental view.”
The transcendental perspective sees life as fleeting and ultimately meaningless, freeing us from anxiety.
This outlook flourishes in silence and with few distractions. In practice, Schopenhauer preferred his own company or that of a few like-minded friends far away from the stupid noisy mass of society. He even joked that books are the quintessence of a mind, far surpassing conversation.
“Books are the quintessence of a mind, far surpassing conversation.”
In his essays, he argues that to develop your intellect, it is possible to read books written by people whose conversation would give us no satisfaction. So that the mind will only by degrees attain high culture by finding entertainment in books and not in men.
In other words, if your peers disappoint you, turn to the works of geniuses instead. Reading wise authors, whether dead or alive, is often far more enriching than idle chitchat with neighbors.
Schopenhauer also offered a sardonic hope at the end of his essay on noise. He wished that more intelligent and refined nations would abolish whip-cracking, the metaphorical noise of stupidity, by example. Likewise, you can set your own example by valuing thoughtfulness and courtesy. By refusing to interrupt others or tolerate interruption, you raise the bar around you.
Every person you influence to respect silence and substance makes the world a little more bearable. To stay sane and grow wise, consciously walk with the wise and avoid the fellowship of fools.
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