How can you be "too smart for your own good"? How is that possible? It doesn't compute. Can you give me an example please?

Sometimes people think they are too smart to get caught.  So they go ahead and do the crime. 

I think of it this way ... in most RPGs, there are 2 characteristics: Intelligence and Wisdom.

Intelligence usually represents something like IQ or "book learning".

Wisdom usually represents something like "life experience" or "street smarts" or "common sense".


"Too smart for your own good"?  The person has a high Intelligence, but low Wisdom.

There is implication here.

Meaning the person THINKS he is so smart, but he is using his "vast intellect" and getting nowhere because:

His vast intellect has not picked up a book in ages nor learned what the rest of the world is thinking. 

Too smart for one's own good also means that the SMART one thinks he's so smart that he doesn't need to consider anyone else's input.  That is almost always a tragedy.  We are not here ALONE. We are a unit.  We must consider our brothers and sisters in ever action we take.

But the real turnoff is that the smart person is very very very very DENSE.

The smart person thinks that his brain is what is getting him places.  What he doesn't realize is the brain and the ego are highly intertwined.  If you use reason coldly, you get facts.  If you use reason with emotions that are always infecting one's reason and are not aware of this?  YOU ARE DENSE.
It will always thwart you and level you to the ground.