When you view the world as being filled with incompetent idiots, you're seeing the world through your own filter...not anybody elses. Realize that everybody on the face of the planet has their own filter. Human relationships are built upon being able to empathize with others and perhaps glimpse life through their filter.
Not seeing the fork ribbon in the upper-right isn't about someone being "dumb" anymore than you not knowing how to change your own oil, fix a leaky faucet, put in a new electrical outlet or build a fucking house, makes you dumb.
You didn't just "simply point" out the correct answer. You added, "you really can't have looked very hard." which is an assumption on your part; a conclusion you reached based on your filter of the "world seems to be populated by incompetent idiots".
Very much this. As someone with a strong interest in everything neurology/psychology/intelligence/learning/teaching/etc, this is the most accurate description of what is going on.
"Incompetence" isn't toxic, viewpoint and attitude are. There will always be someone "dumber" than you, and there will always be someone "smarter" than you. Once you realize this and internalize it into your world view, you will come to the same conclusion that book teaches, and that is one of cooperation.
Like my parent here alluded to, you didn't just point out an answer, you projected your thought process onto another person. Why do some people get depressed at what seem like tiny insignificant details, while others live happily in the worst of global conditions? The answer is Perspective. The pain/difficulty anyone feels is very much real to them, it is not an objective measurement -- so when you project the idea that a person just couldn't have tried very hard, you make the assumption that you know what it's like for that person to 'try' anything in that context.
If you look at my own comment history, you'll see that I have dealt with the difficulty of explaining myself to others quite a bit, but also that I try to turn it into a productive thought-provoking discussion with a neutral tone and strong points. For example, what I am saying right now is very similar to a direct attack on your ego (and I wouldn't blame you if you took it as such), but I try to present my words in such a way that will invoke action from your rational 'executive brain' long before it hits your emotional 'reptilian brain', if that makes any sense?
The only real course of action that makes sense is cooperation; any other interpretation would basically implicate that either the world revolves around you, or that everyone is like you, and those ideas should be clearly false to everyone.
Not seeing the fork ribbon in the upper-right isn't about someone being "dumb" anymore than you not knowing how to change your own oil, fix a leaky faucet, put in a new electrical outlet or build a fucking house, makes you dumb.
You didn't just "simply point" out the correct answer. You added, "you really can't have looked very hard." which is an assumption on your part; a conclusion you reached based on your filter of the "world seems to be populated by incompetent idiots".