Don't blame me, I voted for that smart lady who seemed nice and had a clever plan to cut my grocery bill.
January 30, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Don't blame me, I voted for that smart lady who seemed nice and had a clever plan to cut my grocery bill.
the tech fascists think they are so clever and smart but their entire worldview is just a bunch of stale apologetics for race hatred and fascism
April 19, 2026 at 12:35 PM
the tech fascists think they are so clever and smart but their entire worldview is just a bunch of stale apologetics for race hatred and fascism
Clever idea with a smart historical perspective. 🧵
Like Robben Island in South Africa or Robert E Lee's plantation, Mar-A-Lago is a symbol of fascist power that needs to be repurposed when we restore our democracy. It should become the Museum of American Fascism along with a related research center. My latest:
open.substack.com/pub/edwineis...
open.substack.com/pub/edwineis...
May 15, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Clever idea with a smart historical perspective. 🧵
I see a certain science fiction writer has reopened the discussion about the difference between “clever” and “smart.” Which may be one of the defining problems of our age.
The tech masters and finance guys of the universe are monumentally clever, but I cannot name single one who is smart.
The tech masters and finance guys of the universe are monumentally clever, but I cannot name single one who is smart.
March 31, 2026 at 3:56 AM
I see a certain science fiction writer has reopened the discussion about the difference between “clever” and “smart.” Which may be one of the defining problems of our age.
The tech masters and finance guys of the universe are monumentally clever, but I cannot name single one who is smart.
The tech masters and finance guys of the universe are monumentally clever, but I cannot name single one who is smart.
Why senior developers never write "clever" code.
Clever code is hard to read.
Hard to debug.
Impossible to maintain.
Your goal isn't to look smart. It's to write simple, boring code that just works.
#Buildinpublic
Clever code is hard to read.
Hard to debug.
Impossible to maintain.
Your goal isn't to look smart. It's to write simple, boring code that just works.
#Buildinpublic
September 4, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Why senior developers never write "clever" code.
Clever code is hard to read.
Hard to debug.
Impossible to maintain.
Your goal isn't to look smart. It's to write simple, boring code that just works.
#Buildinpublic
Clever code is hard to read.
Hard to debug.
Impossible to maintain.
Your goal isn't to look smart. It's to write simple, boring code that just works.
#Buildinpublic
Aaron Sorkin’s idea of smart dialogue is people smugly saying trivia at eachother and scowling until one of them’s clever meter is full and they do their ultimate clever boy limit break move and win the conversation
August 7, 2025 at 3:38 AM
Aaron Sorkin’s idea of smart dialogue is people smugly saying trivia at eachother and scowling until one of them’s clever meter is full and they do their ultimate clever boy limit break move and win the conversation
Meet our newest cat, Clever! He is around 3 years old and was rescued from the side of a road.
Clever is certainly the right name for this smart guy who is also so so sweet.
Clever is certainly the right name for this smart guy who is also so so sweet.
July 29, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Meet our newest cat, Clever! He is around 3 years old and was rescued from the side of a road.
Clever is certainly the right name for this smart guy who is also so so sweet.
Clever is certainly the right name for this smart guy who is also so so sweet.
"confuses 'clever' with 'smart'" — many such cases, unfortunately
August 9, 2024 at 11:59 AM
"confuses 'clever' with 'smart'" — many such cases, unfortunately
very smart people who rise through the ranks of their current system are also very good at developing clever rationalizations to justify their compliance with fascism
May 12, 2025 at 2:56 PM
very smart people who rise through the ranks of their current system are also very good at developing clever rationalizations to justify their compliance with fascism
Clever squeezing by Cassidy. (Who is a hump. But this was smart.)
You've got to remember that even though RFK Jr looks like an idiot and sounds like an idiot, he is, in fact, an idiot.
SEN. CASSIDY (R) : “Do you agree Trump deserves the Nobel Prize for Operation Warp speed?”
RFK JR.: “Absolutely.”
SEN. CASSIDY: “But you just told Senator Bennet the COVID vaccine killed more people than COVID.”
RFK JR.: “….”😬 🤷🏻♂️
RFK JR.: “Absolutely.”
SEN. CASSIDY: “But you just told Senator Bennet the COVID vaccine killed more people than COVID.”
RFK JR.: “….”😬 🤷🏻♂️
September 4, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Clever squeezing by Cassidy. (Who is a hump. But this was smart.)
one of the interesting things about a would-be fascist takeover is the endless clever-sounding justifications that smart people come up with to explain why they should go along with it
Consider the possibility that the Trump White House WANTS this fight. Wants journalists to act like opponents instead of observers. If the entire press pool skipped a Trump photo op in solidarity with The AP, wouldn't the White House welcome Breitbart and One America News to take their places?
And, are you or your colleagues boycotting covering the WH as a protest?
February 15, 2025 at 5:06 PM
one of the interesting things about a would-be fascist takeover is the endless clever-sounding justifications that smart people come up with to explain why they should go along with it
We live in the Golden Age of No, They’re Not Smart, Just Clever, and pray we survive.
June 22, 2024 at 2:34 AM
We live in the Golden Age of No, They’re Not Smart, Just Clever, and pray we survive.
surely a 19-24 year old silicon valley guy would be well positioned to resist a woman telling him he's so smart and clever and strong, can he tell her the most important secrets he knows.
February 3, 2025 at 1:24 AM
surely a 19-24 year old silicon valley guy would be well positioned to resist a woman telling him he's so smart and clever and strong, can he tell her the most important secrets he knows.
Even more than “smart” (which he is not)— “clever.” He thinks he is very very clever.
July 30, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Even more than “smart” (which he is not)— “clever.” He thinks he is very very clever.
yes. he is clever and cunning but not especially smart
September 7, 2025 at 12:14 AM
yes. he is clever and cunning but not especially smart
Oh, you’re wearing your smart glasses? Big deal, I’m wearing my Clever Hat™️
October 3, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Oh, you’re wearing your smart glasses? Big deal, I’m wearing my Clever Hat™️
They think they sound so clever and smart, like they are spouting new ideas no one has ever seen before when we all have. Fascism is not new, it's not original, and it needs to fail.
April 19, 2026 at 10:31 AM
They think they sound so clever and smart, like they are spouting new ideas no one has ever seen before when we all have. Fascism is not new, it's not original, and it needs to fail.
My whole life, well-educated rich people have peddled a secret, smart way of understanding the world that is just ever so interesting and clever, and that makes YOU clever and interesting. It is always wrong.
This is the natural endpoint of “we’re the adults in the room” - genocide can be hand waved away as “you poor smug child, don’t you know geopolitics is complicated”
January 12, 2025 at 8:30 PM
My whole life, well-educated rich people have peddled a secret, smart way of understanding the world that is just ever so interesting and clever, and that makes YOU clever and interesting. It is always wrong.
Hab gehört, clever und smart verkaufen jetzt Teslas ab Weißem Haus.
March 12, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Hab gehört, clever und smart verkaufen jetzt Teslas ab Weißem Haus.
Apologies if I sound angry, but it is a real problem that the 'smart' commentary on this war is trying hard to avoid the core lesson ("the president is a fucking moron") because it doesn't sound very clever when it is absolutely the most important takeaway from this debacle.
July 23, 2026 at 11:12 PM
Apologies if I sound angry, but it is a real problem that the 'smart' commentary on this war is trying hard to avoid the core lesson ("the president is a fucking moron") because it doesn't sound very clever when it is absolutely the most important takeaway from this debacle.
magazine guys love being clever but not smart
I think people disliked your article because its core argument is asinine! We're not upset about the mechanism by which Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico,we're upset because it is unilateral, absurd & racist.
Authoritarians often use legal means for nefarious ends, we all know this. Why don't you?
Authoritarians often use legal means for nefarious ends, we all know this. Why don't you?
February 16, 2025 at 3:42 PM
magazine guys love being clever but not smart
man i fucking hate when a crossword maker wants to be clever
we're all smart, lemme shoot this mind gun at the word range for time, bitch
we're all smart, lemme shoot this mind gun at the word range for time, bitch
December 15, 2024 at 3:56 PM
man i fucking hate when a crossword maker wants to be clever
we're all smart, lemme shoot this mind gun at the word range for time, bitch
we're all smart, lemme shoot this mind gun at the word range for time, bitch
He’s a clever bully with a talent for showmanship. A demagogue. That does not mean he is smart. Cunning. Not smart.
March 26, 2026 at 7:17 PM
He’s a clever bully with a talent for showmanship. A demagogue. That does not mean he is smart. Cunning. Not smart.