"People are Stupid"

[s0denone]

Most people aren't stupid, they just do stupid things.

How do we do stupid things if we aren't stupid? Are you saying that people knowingly do stupid things?

Yes.
I've been in a few fights in my life. That was stupid.
I've done vandalism. That was quite stupid, too.
Hell, I've been in a argument of whether xbox was better than playstation. That was extremely stupid.

Does that make me stupid? No.

Every last one of us have done something stupid. That doesn't make us stupid, that makes us human.
Nobody is perfect.

On topic:
Awesome topic!
I'm glad someone else is getting tired of the constant, mind-blowingly annoying viewpoint of some people(of these forums).

I think people are great.
Let me rephrase that:
I think we are great.
You know, I'm part of "people". I don't consider myself to be better than everyone else. I might grasp some concepts that others cannot comprehend, but they, in turn, are more knowledgeable than me in other areas.

I think, first of all, that talking of "people" as opposed to oneself, is extremely arrogant. That's my main gripe with this whole thing.

 

[norwegian-guy]

People are stupid. A person is smart.
On their own, a person can be smart. As part of a crowd, they lose that. They become one of the people.
At least, I think that is what it was, or close enough. Other things on my mind >.>

So people with doctor-degrees are stupid? Or do they lose the term 'people'? I just felt that I had to point out that stupid is not a necesary part of 'people' just as smart ins't a necesary part of 'person'.

OT: I really think people should be careful labeling someone as stupid. When you judge that someone is stupid you will as a natural part of the judging act consider oneself smarter than the other. But by what standard, IQ? I've seen people with high IQ act like complete idiots. Sartres 'Bad faith' consept gives us a good principle within this question: That we can never truly know our own personal nature.
Since we cannot truly know our own nature we shouldn't be so sure about ourselves that we feel we can judge others, 'specially the masses.

 

[Hader]

People are stupid. A person is smart.
On their own, a person can be smart. As part of a crowd, they lose that. They become one of the people.
At least, I think that is what it was, or close enough. Other things on my mind >.>

I would go with this explanation.

Work in retail or a similar job for a while and it might make a bit more sense.

But yeah, people are just stupid. Stupid people, why for you so stupid?

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

People are stupid. A person is smart.
On their own, a person can be smart. As part of a crowd, they lose that. They become one of the people.
At least, I think that is what it was, or close enough. Other things on my mind >.>

Ninja'd in the first post, well fuck.

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

Nice topic OP, I'm tired of people false sense of superiority on these forums.

If everyone is stupid, what does that make you?

 

[Chromatic Aberration]

--- Warning: Complex Text Approaching ---​

People are stupid. A person is smart.
On their own, a person can be smart. As part of a crowd, they lose that. They become one of the people.

People are a collection, and as a collection they are prone to mass hysteria and general ignorance.

I would like to argue against this generalized statement. People might be prone to these kinds of things in "small" groups (up to 1000 people maybe). But, after all, we were able to build working nation states, develop science and a distinct codified moral compass (i.e. the human rights) all just BECAUSE of the plurality of people i.e. through collectives of millions of people.

As such I would dare to say that this "curve of stupidity" is not linear in the number of persons but rather of a more Gaussian form: "stupidity" in the broadest sense being not applicable to the individual and not to big collectives but rather to smaller groups only.

-----​

Now to the actual OP: You are right. The Generalization that "people are stupid" is illegitimate. One has to specify exactly what is meant with "the people" (as seen in the first part of my post) and "stupidity".

In my own experience, I would say the origin of the mostly perceived "stupidity" is of the third kind the OP mentioned: It is difficult to assess the complexity of the world and stay aware of possible outcomes of ones actions. "Stupidity" is then just not being able to see a possible outcome and acting in a destructive/harmful way without ever realizing it. I'd say that this is not actual stupidity as this can very well be accidental. What I would define as "stupid", however, is denying the complexity and usher pointless and bland generalizations without the slightest sliver of doubt. One thing that is especially prone to this kind of idiocy is self perception. Another being "knowledge" out of experience: it usually wins over knowledge based on scientific developments, especially if it contradicts your own experience.

This behaviour might be either due to social pressure (ignorance being positively rewarded by acceptance of like minded individuals and thus amplified - a sort of vicious circle of ignorance, if you like), inherent lack of some sort of social intelligence (lacking perception of morality) or difficulties with thinking outside the box and accepting different opinions (close-mindedness).

The only real solution to that is just one thing: communication. If people communicate they will come in contact with differing opinions and might accept differing opinions, reducing ignorance and violence. In my opinion, increased communication is what brought the world as far as it is today and, with the new means of communication (like the internet), we might even get farther. I certainly hope so

 

[Ladette]

If you assume the worst in people then you won't be dissapointed when they let you down, and you can be pleasantly suprised when someone proves you wrong.

 

[Naheal]

People are stupid. A person is smart.
On their own, a person can be smart. As part of a crowd, they lose that. They become one of the people.
At least, I think that is what it was, or close enough. Other things on my mind >.>

It really depends on both the person and the people. If we're talking about someone who's a scientist who associates with other scientists? I have to disagree. If we're talking about a willfully blind person? Again, I must disagree.

 

[Elanthil01]

On my worst days, I would say "People are stupid relative to...a broken toaster".

 

[FalloutJack]

Let's take this in another direction. If people weren't stupid, how else would the world be what it is instead of something more grand utopian? Everyone has their DUH moments, but there are those for whom the DUH engages more often or doesn't actually turn off. The less we have, the better we are, but a DUH in the right place can ruin it all.

 

[Ohhi]

Everyone I surround myself with is on some level stupid but they all have a redeeming quality but when we get together we do get "stupid" and as more people join in it just gets worse and worse.

 

[Mittens The Kitten]

Let's take this in another direction. If people weren't stupid, how else would the world be what it is instead of something more grand utopian? Everyone has their DUH moments, but there are those for whom the DUH engages more often or doesn't actually turn off. The less we have, the better we are, but a DUH in the right place can ruin it all.

So people, in general, are stupid because it's conceivable that they could have been smarter? Please tell me that im just misreading your comment.

 

[s0denone]

It really depends on both the person and the people. If we're talking about someone who's a scientist who associates with other scientists? I have to disagree. If we're talking about a willfully blind person? Again, I must disagree.

That's uhh...
So...
You got put on probation for which post, exactly?

You must have some definition of stupid people, then, please share it.

 

[Naheal]

It really depends on both the person and the people. If we're talking about someone who's a scientist who associates with other scientists? I have to disagree. If we're talking about a willfully blind person? Again, I must disagree.

That's uhh...
So...
You got put on probation for which post, exactly?

You must have some definition of stupid people, then, please share it.

I fail to see how my probation has anything to do with the statement that I made.

 

[wkrepelin]

If you subscribe to the theory of evolution then you may make the assumption that we are roughly as "stupid" as a sentient being can be while still forming a society. This can be inferred being that the planet is filled with life of various levels of self-awareness but only one species (humans) has a level of sophistication capable of developing a "true society."

There is also a phenomenon in psychology where we blame others for their situations but tend to contribute our own failings on an outside agency. I believe it's part (or an extension) of the "blaming the victim" theory. So other people are "stupid" while you are just "unfortunate."

 

[Eumersian]

A person is smart.

People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it.[small][sub]Finishing the MIB quote?[/sub][/small]

OT: But really, I hold this to be mostly true. How often do you see a large group of people succumbing to some ridiculous doctrine, fashion, style, etc.? A lot more than you see people move one by one to a new style, let me tell you. People like to be in groups, and when in a group, they like to be accepted. This means following the leader. But you take one individual out and that individual will probably go in their own, more logical direction. In a group, people tend to lose their identity and think less analytically about situations, preferring to simply go with the flow, since they don't want to be left behind.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

Everybody's stupid in some way. Fact o life.

 

[FalloutJack]

Let's take this in another direction. If people weren't stupid, how else would the world be what it is instead of something more grand utopian? Everyone has their DUH moments, but there are those for whom the DUH engages more often or doesn't actually turn off. The less we have, the better we are, but a DUH in the right place can ruin it all.

So people, in general, are stupid because it's conceivable that they could have been smarter? Please tell me that im just misreading your comment.

Not quite. Sorry, that one was a bit rushed. I suddenly had to leave.

I've been trying to determine the nature of human stupidity for quite some time. The idea that things could have been better is merely evidence that stupidity exists in a manner which cannot be denied. I tend to boil down a great number of failings that a human has to making the wrong decision, as in being ultimately dumb in some manner. The things that occur in life because of overwhelming greed, arrogance, envy, and whatnot are entirely self-serving things, not caring about the consequences and how it affects the world at large.

Human beings understand right from wrong, a thing that proves that we have intelligence, but sometimes mistakes what they want with what is right when it is wrong. Is it right to want a war and expand your country? Is it right to discontinue a product, which could even mean certain medicine, because you want to turn a loss into a profit? Can you honestly say it's more important to maintain your military borders than to open up and align with others for a better tomorrow? I'm of the opinion that people can be short-sighted, and that this is a form of bad judgement or stupidity.

It happens on a large scale with politics and it happens on the small scale with simple failures in common sense, the kind of thing that gets you into The Darwin Awards. We can't deny that bad things happen because of the mistakes that people made, and that others allowed them to be put in that position when they could've stopped it. It's not actually just a knee-jerk response that I say people are stupid. I just wish we'd learn faster is all. I am trying to be a better person myself, to minimize moments of DUH. The first step is recognizing you have them, as all people do. Can I get some people to take the next step and watch themselves? We can only hope.

 

[Sticky Squid]

Most people aren't stupid, they just do stupid things.

How do we do stupid things if we aren't stupid? Are you saying that people knowingly do stupid things?

I've done stupid things at times purely out of boredom.

 

[Lexodus]

Or just, perhaps, people are STUPID? Back in my parents' day, the kid who swallowed too many marbles didn't grow up. And now, with all the preventative measures in place, the stupid ones aren't weeded out and are left to breed/mis-educate their own progeny.