We have encountered a now-it-all at some point in our lives. To be clear, I will give what I know to be the proper definition of the know-it-all: The know-it-all is a person who knows anything and everything about what you may be interested in or talking about at the time. A know-it-all will fill you in on a better experience if you are sharing a recent event in your life that brought you some pride, joy, or even tragedy. The know-it-all will know more than you about your expertise, even if they have not put in the same amount of study or exercise. They will have done their research on Redit or YouTube.
“Throw out your conceited opinions, for it is impossible for a person to begin t learn what he thinks he already knows.”
You may have a friend, relative, coworker, or colleague that may fall into this category. It's OK. We all can coexist together. The right thing to do is to let them drown in their own self absorbing verbal feces. You can catch their lack of results and action with the naked eye. It does not hurt to encourage them or tell them they did a good job. Some may disagree, but we can all enjoy some cynicism here in seeing a person go up in flames before your very eyes. I think of the saying "liar, liar, pants on fire" to the point where the fire has gotten out of control and burning them at their own stake. We can all love our know-it-alls with the same burning love that engulfs their self inflating ego.
To the know-it-all, you do not have the right answer or advice. It will be dismissed as "something they should look further into", or "that's what they meant all along". You will not win with one of these types. The best thing you can do is smile at them and acknowledge their smug advice. Even if you were to give them your opinion or say on the matter, it may be dismissed with some cross reply. It does not hurt to try and throw in your own sense to them because maybe they can pass it off as their own in one of their separate encounters as their own. You can be blunt like some experts in psychology may suggest, but you will be wasting your time. You'll be hit back with a smug smile that would make the god Apollo cringe as a marble statue.
This is all in good fun of course, but let us all be aware of these kinds. They are not ones to confront off guard. The advice you may get can lead you down a dead end. You will be carrying a rotten loaf of advice or knowledge. It will turn your soul's stomach before you form it into a piece of knowledge of your own. The "he said she said" you will have gained will stink up your character like a bad cologne. Keep your distance from these poison arrows. Always do your own research and check your sources. The experts you meet in life should always have a humble step to their dance. Cherish the elders of wisdom you encounter in life to listen, not reply.