I approve of people thinking they're smarter than they are, because that's a worthy aspiration. Compared to, say, people who think they're hipper or more attractive than they are. If it makes people read literature that stretches their mind, that's great.

Pretension can be the first step towards not needing to pretend.

There's a difference between aspiring to something versus pretending to already have it -- one quality is much more admirable than the other.

Pretension tends to be satisfied with appearances---carrying the literature around rather than actually reading it.

Having it around is a prerequisite to reading it.

It's difficult to think of very many people who are more intelligent than they think they are. I'm not sure why this characterization should be used for any group other than to troll them.

There is significant judgement inherent in this observation.

They're hard to identify because they aren't going around advertising how smart they think they are. You only know it if you get to know them very well.

They're often kids born to lower-middle-class or working class backgrounds.

Or they're likeable people with good social skills who found popularity effortlessly, so never felt the need to look smart. But if you talk to them they're actually really inquisitive and perceptive.

Or they're women or minorities.

I realize that growing up, everyone who I considered to be "really smart" happened to be white, Indian or Asian and male. That means there are whole demographics of smart people I didn't even recognize.

In high school, I was considered to be a top tier "smart kid," and ended up studying physics at Stanford. I thought about a girl I grew up with... who actually ran circles around me in math in 4th grade. And was a better writer than me. But she majored in communications at USC, and is working for People magazine. She was not as beholden to the "I'm so smart" identity that I was.