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Topic: on human stupidity...
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Zatamon
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3912
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posted 20 March 2004 07:32 PM
quote:
Originally posted by windymustang:
I don't mind when people are less intelligent than me, it's when they don't use what they are given. That's stupidity in my books. As long as they are trying to figure it out...alrighty, but just blundering about in a fog not even looking up to breathe or search for a clue, now that's stupidity and it drives me MAD as in MAD MARY FLINT!!!  
Yes, 'MAD' is one of the natural reactions. Since everything is connected, stupidity of some harms us all. Anger is a normal reaction to being threatened. On the other hand, one can feel a number of other emotions too: sadness, pity, hopelessness, fear, compassion. The bottom line is: we are all victims one way or another. However, since we were all born with a death sentence over our heads, does it really matter? I guess it does while we are young. There is so much to lose, so much experience, pleasure, love, awe, beauty to miss. Beyond a certain age: serenity, acceptance, compassion and, often, profound sadness takes over. But that, too, is part of life. And with this final thought I think I close an interesting chapter in my life. [ 20 March 2004: Message edited by: Francis Mont ]
From: "The right crowd" | Registered: Mar 2003
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Mr. Magoo
guilty-pleasure
Babbler # 3469
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posted 22 March 2004 01:37 PM
quote:
a conception of stupid that means "does things differently than I do, or would do"
That's about the only "measure" of stupid that we have, insofar as we can't usually measure someone's IQ at a glance, or sit down with them for a quick game of chess to test their mental prowess. I'm guessing that's Francis' working definition of stupid too, as in "How stupid do you have to be to see that ... _______________"? Seeing as the "stupid" person is probably thinking the very same thing, I don't see the point in it. On the other hand, if anyone wants to restrict voting rights to those with an IQ > 100, let's talk.  [ 22 March 2004: Message edited by: Mr. Magoo ]
From: ø¤°`°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°°¤ø, | Registered: Dec 2002
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Rebecca West
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1873
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posted 22 March 2004 01:59 PM
I was saying to my boss the other day, that I think mistakes, human error, whatever you want to call them, are good things that help us learn, but intentional stupidity (near-sighted self-interest, greed, hypocrisy, etc.) drives me crazy.To paraphrase Windymustang, it isn't the intelligence that we're born with (or without) that's the problem, it's what we do (or don't do) with it.
From: London , Ontario - homogeneous maximus | Registered: Nov 2001
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Mr. Magoo
guilty-pleasure
Babbler # 3469
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posted 22 March 2004 02:20 PM
quote:
it isn't the intelligence that we're born with (or without) that's the problem, it's what we do (or don't do) with it.
Some pretty egregious value judgements embedded in there. Lemme see... you have a PhD in engineering, your hobby is building and flying model planes of your own design, you're an advisor at your son's chess club, and you serve on the editorial board of an industry journal. But you voted for the wrong candidate, so you're stupid. Unless it's clealy defined, and objectively measurable, the label "stupid" is just a handy means of arbitrary social control, not unlike "slutty".
From: ø¤°`°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°°¤ø, | Registered: Dec 2002
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Hinterland
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4014
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posted 22 March 2004 02:49 PM
quote:
Creative, but ultimately full of shit.
I thought Magoo was simply illustrating another possible unit of measure for stupidity. [ 22 March 2004: Message edited by: Hinterland ]
From: Québec/Ontario | Registered: Apr 2003
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Loony Bin
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4996
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posted 22 March 2004 02:50 PM
Someone once told me that along the continuum from total imbecile to total genius, the folks on the lower side of the middle mark (up to a point) are usually the people in life who are happiest and most content. They're smart enough to be able to work and take care of themselves and their families, but not so smart that they know how much they don't know, and so aren't consumed with self-doubt or second guessing the way some smarter people are (like, BA English grads, say...). The folks on either ends of the scale, nearing the extremes, have a whole host of social and other difficulties related to their relative intelligence or stupidity. There's that classic assumption that "real" geniuses are antisocial for example...At any rate, I don't think that judging someone (or everyone) as stupid is very productive at all. If we're talking about influencing people's behaviour toward more environmentally or socially responsible habits or something like that, we're probably best to assume a general, basic competence and approach those whose behaviour we'd like to change with respect. Best to at least assume basic competence and start there, because nobody likes to be talked to like they're some kind of idiot. (even if they are...  )
From: solitary confinement | Registered: Feb 2004
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HalfAnHourLater
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4641
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posted 22 March 2004 05:18 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Cougyr:
It can be a lot of fun watching people do something that doesn't work. More often than not, they will repeat themselves, each time expecting a different result. Groups are bad at this; large groups impossible. Governments . . . . If the Americans, the British, the French, the Italians, the Australians, etc. have tried something and failed, Canadians have to try and fail too. Somehow, we just can't learn from other people's mistakes.
This seems to be because we can 'pass on' or record knowledge (facts) but we have a hard time passing along experience, especially personal ones to others. A similar problem arises with intelligence and I guess conversly stupidity...with respect to what? What type of intelligence or we refering to, of which there are countless forms (analytical, memory, visual/manual, etc.) For example I might have low degree of dexterous intelligence or dyslexia (all the spelling mistakes) yet could be a math wiz! Perhaps my spatial recognition is quite advanced, yet my memory is somwhat lacking or..and so on...Thus I might be 'intelligent' or highly skilled even gifted in one driection, and a complete nitwit or stupid moron in another...
Hence depending upon circomstances and reference information I might come off as 'stupid' or as a genius! [ 22 March 2004: Message edited by: HalfAnHourLater ]
From: So-so-so-solidarité! | Registered: Nov 2003
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