Is there a word for "clever fool?"


What do you call a person who despite being very clever in one field, e.g. math or physics, behaves very unwisely or impractical in real life?
I know some people who are very well educated and can solve difficult scientific problems, but they seem to belong to some different society. They can easily be cheated by any fraud, they are often absentminded so they lose their belonging all the time etc.
Do you have a word for this kind of people?



Answer



I've heard people like that described as book smart. It is sometimes used as the opposite of street-smart.



Being able to succeed scholastically, and not necessarily in the real world.



Urban Dictionary


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