We Lebanese think we know everything. It is absolutely impossible for  Lebanese people to admit that they are wrong. They would rather keep arguing to death. I don't know. It seems that maybe we like the sounds of our voices a little too much. Or maybe we're just bored. But definitely, our self-grandiosity can be a little sickening sometimes.
 We all know the next-door-neighbor-coming-for-morning-coffee/cigarette situation. This next door neighbor thinks she has the right to analyze the heck out of any poor, unsuspecting person's life. Of course, all her theories about the complexities of that person (let's call him Mr. J) are unequivocally correct. They can't but be correct, you see. She has had enough experience in life to understand the inner workings of people. Mr. J lost his job? Well, it must be because of his secret drinking problem. Oh, yes, the formidable neighbor knows about that; she hears him wake up at night and tiptoe to the kitchen (even though she lives three streets away.) But she just knows these things. She also knows about Mr. J's marital problems. She thinks his wife is cheating on him. Why that is, exactly, she cannot say, but she has a "feeling," and her "feelings" have never disappointed her so far. 
 Or how about the "I-know-the-doctor-is-wrong-about-this" syndrome? This is a classic syndrome present everywhere in the country. You see, the doctor may have studied for about twenty years, but he still has no clue to what he's talking about. What kind of idiot thinks that drinking 15 glasses of arak a day and smoking three packs is bad for your health? Doesn't he know that arak energizes the blood and that cigars toughen the spirit? Who is he to tell me to stop eating awarma every morning? What, does he want me to starve? That idiot of a doctor doesn't know squat. It is I, the overweight, under-fit, highly intelligent citizen that knows all. 
 My absolute favorite is this: a patient telling the physician or any other health professional that his medical theories are in fact incorrect. For example: 
Patient: Doc, I just thought I would enlighten you about my condition. I believe that my running for 20 minutes a day just as you ordered is bad for my heart.
Doctor: Why is that exactly?
Patient: "Well, my heart starts beating more and I heard once on TV that if the heart beats too fast, it might fall out of the chest and into the stomach. Would you like that to happen to me? Are you sadistic or something?
 Another example I particularly like is when people try to fix your car/DVD/computer. The closest these many individuals have come to fixing a complex piece of equipment is watching Home Improvement on the Disney Channel. And yet, each one of them has a rather interesting theory about how a specific machine runs. One believes that to get your car running smoothly again, you must (and this is very important) remove the carburetor and blow on it. Why that is successful is a mystery. Another believes that the computer is jammed because it needs to be shaken hard every once in a while to keep it running. And so on and so forth. 
 There is absolutely no arguing with these people. They are just impossible. And, unfortunately, Lebanon is filled to the brim with them. Maybe that's what makes life here so interesting!