Asklemmy

Think that through. You are in a room with only people dumber than you. How are you learning anything? They don't have anything good to teach you. If you try to bring new knowledge into the room, they will likely not reward you for it, and quite possibly actively attack you for it. How long do you think you could maintain your intelligent view of anything when everyone around you is dragging you down with every interaction? You try to discuss science, they call you a nerd and tear up your textbooks to roll blunts. You try spending time ignoring them to study the construction of the walls of the room, but eventually you need some company. No one can survive in complete isolation. They tell you you're the idiot for trying so hard, for caring about these things that no one else in your world cares about. And you hate to admit it, but they're kind of right. You can study everything you want. You can write down findings for the rest of your life about the room, but when you're gone, they're just going to roll them into blunts. Even if you resist at first, they'll outlast you because you need people to maintain your sanity. They'll wear down your values as they, without even thinking about it, use operand conditioning to get you to use their slang, play their games, value what they value, disregard what they disregard. It happens all the time.

Teaching others is one of the best ways to learn. There are levels of hell though. E.g. try teaching MAGA anything about the scientific method.