What's So Great About Being Stupid?

[Ragsnstitches]

OK, it looks like we are still attacking the messenger about this subject. Let me try again. The 10% of the brain is a myth. I know that. I see something positive about the myth. If you don't, that's fine. I'm sure there is something you find inspirational that other people think it's silly.

What I was responding to is the people who seem to take great offense to that particular myth. When there are thousands of urban legends and myths that get used in movies that people have no problem going along with. My theory is that a lot of people are just anti-intellectual. The idea of people being smart is offensive to them. Another example of what I'm talk about would be this article. https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/381871/smarter-thou

So, this question is for the people who constantly make excuses for stupid people and their behavior. Also, for the people who distrust anybody and anything that is smart.

Does not compute... the speading of misinformation and faulty logic is "intelligent" in your mind? But the people trouncing it and debunking the myths are advocates of "anti-intellectuals" or they themselves are anti-intellectual and fear intelligence?

I read that topic and there was no one taking "great offence" to the myth being used in a film. Some eye rolling at a sci-fi movie throwing around pulpy pseudo science sure, but it's not without reason.

In recent years such faux-science has spawned it's own club of anti-intellectuals that make creationist "scientist" seem reasonable. Look up spirit science and "woo woo" and space jews for the kind of stupid you are endorsing with that "10% myth" and others like it. The Secret... The mother fucking Secret, is the kind of garbage that gains ground when you entertain ignorant notions of what SCIENCE is. And the charlatans and modern snake oil salesmen are the ones that benefit from this.

Sure, you find it inspirational. So does my Dad. Also, Some people find the threat of everlasting damnation inspiring or the pleasure of having 72 virgins (sounds more like a nightmare to me) if you die for your beliefs inspiring. Fuck it, the end of the barrel of a gun can be VERY inspiring.

It doesn't mean it's right, or should be endorsed or given freedom to spread. The worst thing is pseudo-science and it's peddlers masquerades as something deserving of respect and consideration... actual scientists. In the end, REAL SCIENCE suffers due to these gobshites.

Look, I get it. It's not that you believe the myth, but appreciate the concept behind it (untapped potential). But honestly, you are missing the forest for the trees. Where I'm sitting we are all capable, to some degree, of great things, but only few of us achieve great thing and fewer still get recognition for it.

As someone pointed out above, taking humanity as a whole, we are far from stupid. Collectively we have achieved AMAZING things MUCH of which has been in the last few centuries, and this denigration of society is an insult to our accomplishments. There will always be people who underachieve or are misled, stop distracting yourself by them and instead look to and support the people who's intellect will be the foundation our future is built on.

And if you genuinely believe in our potential as a species, put your money where your mouth is and do something amazing.

Finally, there is nothing wrong with these myths being used in films or media or whatever. I'm all for fiction not following reality. It's the point of fantasy after all. But in a time where Science seems impenetrable to some and who are given "easy answers" by scam artists claiming to be scientists, we need to have loud voices to call people away from dangerous logic or useless drivel. Many people do not have the critical awareness to sieve trough the bullshit, especially older generations and people coming up with poor or twisted educations. It's not that people WANT to be stupid, but that they are conditioned to be:

 

[Lupine]

snip

I think you are being disingenuous. However, I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I will try to tell the story in a simpler way. I put up a sign that read "No X" (I'm not going to tell you what the sign say, because I don't want to give any of my personal details away. If I wanted to do that, I'll be on Facebook. Which is another sign that people are stupid. That's a different subject for another thread.) After I put that sign up, I had people coming in, pointing at the sign, and asking me: "No X?" I have to tell them, "That's what the sign means." I have asked people why they were asking me such a stupid question. They replied, "Ummmm, you never know that there might be X." Yes! You do know if there is X or not. It's written on a sign.

Did you ever think that maybe people are I don't know...contrary? Or...that they buck imposed limits out of spite sometimes for no other reason that they feel that they can, that they are entitled to, and there is no one to stop them? On top of that the average person on the street isn't stupid, they are inattentive, they live in a world where it is more important to them that they check their cellphone messages than it is for them to be sure that they aren't running over pedestrians in the streets.

I work in the service industry and let me just say that I watch people everyday walk up to me and ask about something that has a massive sign overhead answering their inquiry in advance. Some people will get angry with you for pointing out the sign to them, even without being rude about it. In short, people do not pay attention and it has heck all to do with their intellect and tons more to do with their up bringing and living in a country that allows them to foster apathy toward what just a few generations ago would have been vital to their continued survival.

Also based on your "No X" I'd point out that again, this has nothing to do with people's intelligence and much more to do with them being incredulous that you'd limit the things they feel they are entitled to. People aren't stupid, they're just smug jerks often times missing a spoon full or perhaps a mixing bowl of empathy and basic human decency.

 

[MCerberus]

The reason it's not a good idea to take inspiration from an incorrect heuristic is that it leads to a false understanding that spreads through society. People have a wrong model about how, in this case, the brain works. That means when society as a whole needs to come to a decision on the subject, they're using bad data. Another heuristic similar to this is the "understanding" that global warming means the weather is always going to be hotter. That one's actually lead to damage.

On a broader scale, the reason being stupid has been getting more popular is that the world as a whole has taken a conservative swing. Conservatism has been historically against intellectuals. This is partially due to the people in power being rapidly aging (seriously, WW2 messed a whole lot of stuff up, even now). Another chunk is that the internet is causing loud voices to create echo chambers, oddly meaning that people are working off of less information and more feelings and exposing themselves to less new ideas. This is Colbert's "truthiness". Conservatism is, at its root, not as prone to questioning the status quo. That's why we're seeing a return to divine-command theory in a big way while duty ethic views are in decline (this is a massive irony in the US, where conservatives are rejecting their own faith's teachings because they're too liberal).

To defend Bush, his going with his feelings is more a symptom of the problem than creating the effect.

Point being, you're wrong about a lot of stuff and that's okay and don't defend things you know are wrong.

I'm not defending people who do that but "curiosity killed the cat" as they say. So they are welcome to try and confirm the truth but they have no right to complain when it turns out to be true.

You're forgetting the second half of that saying: "satisfaction brought him back."
Funny how cutting it in half gives you the exact opposite meaning.

 

[AJ_Lethal]

I'm sorry, but what the hell is this thread about?

I mean, stupid people can be annoying, but what really pushes me into a murderous rage is stupid people who overstimate their intelligence, act like king shit and refusing to question themselves. And OP is veering into that

 

[Phrozenflame500]

OK, it looks like we are still attacking the messenger about this subject. Let me try again. The 10% of the brain is a myth. I know that. I see something positive about the myth. If you don't, that's fine. I'm sure there is something you find inspirational that other people think it's silly.

What I was responding to is the people who seem to take great offense to that particular myth. When there are thousands of urban legends and myths that get used in movies that people have no problem going along with. My theory is that a lot of people are just anti-intellectual. The idea of people being smart is offensive to them. Another example of what I'm talk about would be this article. https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/381871/smarter-thou

As somebody who generally considers himself fiercely pro-intellectual, I'm kinda struggling to understand your point here.

From what I understand, you recognize that the "10%" thing is a myth, but you wish the myth was true because it would establish that the hypothetical "cap" for knowledge (ignoring how difficult it is to objectively measure intellect) is far higher then anything achieved today. Am I understanding you here? I can kinda get the logic behind that.

But I think that your argument falls apart in your theory that people's anger to this myth is because they're offended by the idea that they can be smarter then they are now. Have you considered that people are just annoyed by the fact that it flat-out isn't true and it is continuously repeated as a marketing gimmick for films?

That's generally what annoys me about it. That it has repeatedly been demonstrated to be false and yet this myth in particular tends to be repeated to be used as a lazy excuse for superpowers. Sure it isn't the only common misconception used in films but it's one of the few that gets printed on film posters and said in interviews for major motion pictures.

Also, reading your OP again I don't think I've ever heard somebody say "what's so great about being smart" ever, much less unironically.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

However, we seem to be living in a society where stupid is the new normal. Where people act dumb, rude, and obnoxious; then get offended when someone calls them out on their bullshit. Anytime someone points out the decline of intelligent behavior, the response is, "What's so great about being smart?" OK, to those people and also the ones offended by the 10% brain myth: What's so great about being stupid?

I believe you're mistaking ignorance for stupidity. The things you're describing, rudeness, obnoxiousness, easily offended natures, all those have been exhibited by people with differing levels of intelligence. No matter how smart someone is, they can still be ignorant. Ignorant of others around them, their feelings, their strengths, etc.
Intelligence isn't always a cure, sometimes it leads to arrogance which is a form of ignorance. There are some damn dumb smart people out there by that measure.
Most of those things are social and psychological issues which have nothing to do with intelligence, and everything to do with personality and close-mindedness. Its not how much we apply ourselves, its how we deal with those around us and how tolerant we are of those who are in some way different than ourselves.

 

[Something Amyss]

Honestly, I find the 10% of the brain myth inspiring.

Then aren't you valuing the myth over the facts? And didn't you fail to even bother to understand where the "butt-hurt" came from?

What's so beneficial about that, and how is it different from valuing stupidity?

It suggests to me that they are saying, "We can't be any more intelligent than what we are."

Except you're putting words in their mouths. There are many ways to be smarter that don't involve psuedo-science.

 

[IceForce]

My theory is that a lot of people are just anti-intellectual. The idea of people being smart is offensive to them.

Except, theories usually have some modicum of logic to them.
And I still fail to see any logic in any of this.

 

[wulf3n]

Well, that's the thing I was getting at.

No you weren't, you specifically said.

I put up a sign that read "No X"

Simple enough.

You then continued...

After I put that sign up, I had people coming in, pointing at the sign, and asking me: "No X?"

A benign enough question. You imply no i'll attitude or demand on the part of the curious. Nor do you provide any evidence to imply that the customer(s) in question ignored or missed readily available information, in fact you made it clear that they did read the sign, implying that they were simply clarifying the validity of the sign.

The response of the customer you supplied confirms this.

I have asked people why they were asking me such a stupid question. They replied, "Ummmm, you never know that there might be X."

Again with no indication of any rudeness or maliciousness.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Spoiler: On the subject of People are stupid

There's nothing great about being stupid because it means a lack of intelligence. However, being ignorant can be quite nice: there's nary a person that doesn't at least once express nostalgia towards a bygone time, even though empirically speaking, things only get better as they progress: so yes, ignorance of a bygone age is quite blissful, but only to an extent.

To be honest though, I don't see the point of conversing with people who use retorts such as "What's so great about being smart?", or at least, in that context. And no, there is no decline of intelligent behaviour, it's just that the availability of media has made it a lot easier to see the faults in people, leading us to be more cynical about everyone and everything. About the 'applying ourselves' thing: that's what education is or what it should be, but the fact of the matter is that attention and interest are limited. It is very difficult to dedicate yourself to the point demonstrated in Lucy, because you'd either get bored or exhausted(or both). Besides, we are already achieving countless breakthroughs in the modern age, across all disciplines. Progress is accelerating: one look at recent findings in CERN can attest to that, as can social reforms such as the legalisation of gay marriage and whatnot.

So no, nothing great about being stupid, but there is enjoyment to be had in ignorance. No, 'people' are not stupid, and no, no-one is praising stupidity over intelligence: most people just don't care because they're concerned about themselves. And no, there is no 'decline of intelligent behaviour', because a few glances at [a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_scientific_discoveries#21st_century]this[/a] disproves that assumption.

 

[Bertylicious]

However, we seem to be living in a society where stupid is the new normal.

Fuck yeah; back in the past people were well clever, what with 100% of people going to university on account of them all having awesome names like Geraldine and Isambard and Harold. I heard that Henry Ford invented a flying car but then his mum fed him a McDonalds Happy Meal and he couldn't remember the design. Thanks Obama!

I have been a moron for 31 years now, or a "rey rey" to use the parlance of our times, and I can tell you now that it is brilliant; I never get consumed by existential dread, I can watch Jeremy Kyle on the television whenever I want without having to get hammered first and I'm never bored because I can always comment on Youtube videos. I would absolutely recommend it as a life choice.

 

[Thyunda]

What's so great about being stupid?

Less chance of depression. Being predictable and therefore reliable. Less need to feel right all the time. I don't see what's so great about being smart, if I'm honest. I succeed in literally every academic task I pursue, and I score a high 2:1 on assignments I wrote the morning of the deadline.
I'm a clever bastard. And where does it get me? Managers don't like smart people. Smart people might know better, and that leads to disobedience. Smart people don't understand why somebody as stupid as their supervisor should have any authority, so smart people might be tempted to get all autonomous.

And managers hate that shit.

So think about it properly. What's so great about being smart? A stupid person might finish high school with poor grades, get a job in some restaurant washing dishes and then just do as they're told so well they earn a respectable wage as a supervisor by the time they have a family of their own. Sure, their house is pretty small, and they'll never own a proper sports car, but hey, it's a life. A stupid person doesn't concern themselves with war in the Middle East, and doesn't get angry at the treatment of people in a far off land they'll never meet and never visit. It might be simple and boring, but honestly? Being smart is just plain depressing.

Of course, you might argue that stupid people struggle to get jobs and so cheat the welfare system instead. I always wondered how that argument gets formed, because I've been on welfare. Claiming that money legitimately is an intricate web of nightmares, and they will cut your benefits because you told one adviser you checked for jobs in a newspaper and told another you used the newspaper's website. There is no way anybody you'd rank as 'stupid' can manipulate a system designed specifically to trap and remove as many people as possible.

People who rally against homosexuality are generally pretty stupid. People who blockade buses carrying refugees are also pretty damned stupid. But then you're just looking at it from the wrong angle. Those people were persuaded they were doing right, because I guarantee it's not a stupid person leading that charge. Our favourite guy, Jack Thompson, is ignorant as pig shit, but he earned a qualification to practice law. Obviously not stupid. Politicians who tell you about the evils of immigration are certainly not stupid. Whether they're malicious or ignorant, there's no such thing as a stupid politician, otherwise we'd all be politicians.

So, for a TLR, if you're so offended that somebody would dare question the benefits of being smart, you might better off answering your own question. Because it didn't take a quadruple figure IQ to answer it.

 

[Thyunda]

Another example of this is when people take off the "Out of Order" sign on the vending machine. They then put money into it and complain that the machine took their money and didn't give them the snack or soda. This is just simply stupid behavior. Why are you trying to defend it?

Though this. This I can relate to. I'm a vending attendant, and there's a staggering amount of people who manage to lose money in a machine with a sellotaped coin slot. They removed the sellotape and put money in. And then they called into the office to complain that the vending machine wasn't working. I asked if they removed the sellotape, they said yes like there was nothing wrong with doing so. I asked why, and they didn't really seem to know the answer.

But this doesn't happen nearly often enough to lament the decline of society - the insistence from managers that 'out of order' signs are limiting the number of customers using the machine are more representative of that. I mean, holy shit, how many times do I have to explain the sign is there because the machine doesn't work, to a goddamn manager demanding I remove it?

 

[DoPo]

OK, it looks like we are still attacking the messenger about this subject. Let me try again. The 10% of the brain is a myth. I know that. I see something positive about the myth. If you don't, that's fine. I'm sure there is something you find inspirational that other people think it's silly.

What I was responding to is the people who seem to take great offense to that particular myth. When there are thousands of urban legends and myths that get used in movies that people have no problem going along with. My theory is that a lot of people are just anti-intellectual. The idea of people being smart is offensive to them. Another example of what I'm talk about would be this article. https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/381871/smarter-thou

So, this question is for the people who constantly make excuses for stupid people and their behavior. Also, for the people who distrust anybody and anything that is smart.

I have really hard time trying to understand this. You've yet to show a link between limiting misinformation and being anti-intellectual who find the idea of people being smart offensive and also distrusts anybody and anything that is smart.

Tell me again, how exactly does one lead to the other. Without skipping steps and using some dream logic. Because without them it really doesn't seem there to be a connection.

 

[ThreeName]

It's effortless...

You'd better add some text to this post quick-like, or you'll get a low content warning, son.

OT: This is now an XKCD thread

And you can also add in the other two that have already been posted. As much as Randall grinds my gears sometimes, he's right on this topic.

What you're saying makes no sense anyway. You want to spread something that is incorrect, so that people will be smarter, except that one of the most important aspects of being smarter is to know things that are factually correct. Do you see the problem here?

 

[DrOswald]

OK, it looks like we are still attacking the messenger about this subject. Let me try again. The 10% of the brain is a myth. I know that. I see something positive about the myth. If you don't, that's fine. I'm sure there is something you find inspirational that other people think it's silly.

What I was responding to is the people who seem to take great offense to that particular myth. When there are thousands of urban legends and myths that get used in movies that people have no problem going along with. My theory is that a lot of people are just anti-intellectual. The idea of people being smart is offensive to them. Another example of what I'm talk about would be this article. https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/381871/smarter-thou

So, this question is for the people who constantly make excuses for stupid people and their behavior. Also, for the people who distrust anybody and anything that is smart.

How are people attacking the messenger? You came in and said "I think people who find psudo science bullshit offensive are anti intellectual." The only message you are carrying is your own. We are not attacking the messenger, we are attacking the message and the one who wrote it.

And the idea that people hate the myth because it offends them that someone else might be smarter than them is, frankly, stupid.

I know the damage psudo science bullshit can do. I have seen it first hand. My grandma is a firm believer in psudo science bullshit and I have seen what has resulted from those beliefs. I have seen the very real damage it has caused as she has relied on "natural remedies" because what do doctors really know, am I right? I have seen her turn away real medicine in favor of magnetizing her milk and putting hologram stickers on her phone. So don't come in here and tell me the reason I dislike this "inspiring" well of shit is because I am anti intellectual.

And as for why this particular myth is a problem? First of all, it isn't just this particular myth. But it falls into one of the important categories of urban myths: Myths about human biology, medicine, and doctors. These are the myths that cause the most immediate damage. It is just a little too close to the sort of misinformation that allows homeopathy to continue to be a thing.

 

[KissingSunlight]

OK, it looks like we are still attacking the messenger about this subject. Let me try again. The 10% of the brain is a myth. I know that. I see something positive about the myth. If you don't, that's fine. I'm sure there is something you find inspirational that other people think it's silly.

What I was responding to is the people who seem to take great offense to that particular myth. When there are thousands of urban legends and myths that get used in movies that people have no problem going along with. My theory is that a lot of people are just anti-intellectual. The idea of people being smart is offensive to them. Another example of what I'm talk about would be this article. https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/381871/smarter-thou

So, this question is for the people who constantly make excuses for stupid people and their behavior. Also, for the people who distrust anybody and anything that is smart.

Does not compute... the speading of misinformation and faulty logic is "intelligent" in your mind? But the people trouncing it and debunking the myths are advocates of "anti-intellectuals" or they themselves are anti-intellectual and fear intelligence?

I read that topic and there was no one taking "great offence" to the myth being used in a film. Some eye rolling at a sci-fi movie throwing around pulpy pseudo science sure, but it's not without reason.

In recent years such faux-science has spawned it's own club of anti-intellectuals that make creationist "scientist" seem reasonable. Look up spirit science and "woo woo" and space jews for the kind of stupid you are endorsing with that "10% myth" and others like it. The Secret... The mother fucking Secret, is the kind of garbage that gains ground when you entertain ignorant notions of what SCIENCE is. And the charlatans and modern snake oil salesmen are the ones that benefit from this.

Sure, you find it inspirational. So does my Dad. Also, Some people find the threat of everlasting damnation inspiring or the pleasure of having 72 virgins (sounds more like a nightmare to me) if you die for your beliefs inspiring. Fuck it, the end of the barrel of a gun can be VERY inspiring.

It doesn't mean it's right, or should be endorsed or given freedom to spread. The worst thing is pseudo-science and it's peddlers masquerades as something deserving of respect and consideration... actual scientists. In the end, REAL SCIENCE suffers due to these gobshites.

Look, I get it. It's not that you believe the myth, but appreciate the concept behind it (untapped potential). But honestly, you are missing the forest for the trees. Where I'm sitting we are all capable, to some degree, of great things, but only few of us achieve great thing and fewer still get recognition for it.

As someone pointed out above, taking humanity as a whole, we are far from stupid. Collectively we have achieved AMAZING things MUCH of which has been in the last few centuries, and this denigration of society is an insult to our accomplishments. There will always be people who underachieve or are misled, stop distracting yourself by them and instead look to and support the people who's intellect will be the foundation our future is built on.

And if you genuinely believe in our potential as a species, put your money where your mouth is and do something amazing.

Finally, there is nothing wrong with these myths being used in films or media or whatever. I'm all for fiction not following reality. It's the point of fantasy after all. But in a time where Science seems impenetrable to some and who are given "easy answers" by scam artists claiming to be scientists, we need to have loud voices to call people away from dangerous logic or useless drivel. Many people do not have the critical awareness to sieve trough the bullshit, especially older generations and people coming up with poor or twisted educations. It's not that people WANT to be stupid, but that they are conditioned to be:

I appreciate your response. I don't think you realize that you have proven my point.

First of all, you claim no one is taking "great offence" to the 10% myth. Yet, you wrote a wall of text complaining about me finding this myth inspirational.

You also claim that people who are against spreading this myth are not anti-intellectual. Yet, you rationalize why people are stupid because, "It's not that people WANT to be stupid, but that they are conditioned to be".

I think all the people criticizing me for bringing this up need to do some serious self-reflection. I do agree with some people that say that the issue is not people are stupid. They are just not paying attention to what's around them or even caring about what's around them. I think that is what frustrating me the most. I don't think most people are mentally deficient. It just that people feel justified in acting stupid. If you have a problem with people acting that way, then it's your fault.

 

[KissingSunlight]

In all of the bits of my 33 years that I recall, I have never ever known anyone to suggest that being stupid is better than being smart, or that being smart was in any way whatsoever 'offensive'.

I just want to know what the fuck the sign the OP wrote said and whether it made sense, but I don't want to read all this noise to find out.

That was post #79

What's so great about being stupid?

Less chance of depression. Being predictable and therefore reliable. Less need to feel right all the time. I don't see what's so great about being smart, if I'm honest. I succeed in literally every academic task I pursue, and I score a high 2:1 on assignments I wrote the morning of the deadline.
I'm a clever bastard. And where does it get me? Managers don't like smart people. Smart people might know better, and that leads to disobedience. Smart people don't understand why somebody as stupid as their supervisor should have any authority, so smart people might be tempted to get all autonomous.

And managers hate that shit.

So think about it properly. What's so great about being smart? A stupid person might finish high school with poor grades, get a job in some restaurant washing dishes and then just do as they're told so well they earn a respectable wage as a supervisor by the time they have a family of their own. Sure, their house is pretty small, and they'll never own a proper sports car, but hey, it's a life. A stupid person doesn't concern themselves with war in the Middle East, and doesn't get angry at the treatment of people in a far off land they'll never meet and never visit. It might be simple and boring, but honestly? Being smart is just plain depressing.

Of course, you might argue that stupid people struggle to get jobs and so cheat the welfare system instead. I always wondered how that argument gets formed, because I've been on welfare. Claiming that money legitimately is an intricate web of nightmares, and they will cut your benefits because you told one adviser you checked for jobs in a newspaper and told another you used the newspaper's website. There is no way anybody you'd rank as 'stupid' can manipulate a system designed specifically to trap and remove as many people as possible.

People who rally against homosexuality are generally pretty stupid. People who blockade buses carrying refugees are also pretty damned stupid. But then you're just looking at it from the wrong angle. Those people were persuaded they were doing right, because I guarantee it's not a stupid person leading that charge. Our favourite guy, Jack Thompson, is ignorant as pig shit, but he earned a qualification to practice law. Obviously not stupid. Politicians who tell you about the evils of immigration are certainly not stupid. Whether they're malicious or ignorant, there's no such thing as a stupid politician, otherwise we'd all be politicians.

So, for a TLR, if you're so offended that somebody would dare question the benefits of being smart, you might better off answering your own question. Because it didn't take a quadruple figure IQ to answer it.

This was post #78.

Does anybody read any other posts? This is one of the handful of posts, just on this thread, this has been advocating stupidity. Honestly, please stop saying that I am making up the fact that people are arguing for stupidity.