Look, there’s a prevailing sentiment against the hoi polloi on these boards b/c we see them as ‘sheep’ and as ignorant masses, the great unwashed; but seriously, I’m one of those guys who doesn’t think you give Americans enough credit when it comes to things like rationalizing and critical thinking. Yeah, they don’t know as much about history or chemical engineering, or words, or __ as we do- Not only that, but many of them don’t even care enough to inform themselves about some pretty important things.
But don’t underestimate their rationalizing and critical thinking, as I say; I would argue that we tend to go so far in our view of non-Dopers as to see them as lemmings running off a cliff- and yes, when they bow down to certain religions or party politics or John Edward :smack:, or when we see the worst of them on America’s Dumbest Criminals or read about them in the Darwin awards, my argument seems laughable.
I’ll just spit it out: at my grocery store, we always bag in plastic unless the customer asks for paper. I believe I’ve noticed that if one customer asks for paper, the other customer in line is more likely to ask for paper, and so on in that line. One obvious answer is that people sometimes don’t put too much thought into the choice unless they see the paper bags and that reminds them of a better option to take, but- is there a psychological term for when a human being is more likely to do something he/she sees other humans doing?
Of course, we immediately think of Nazi Germany (Okay, maybe just me :p), but that’s different- that’s when the moral blame is spread over many people and the group is able to act w/o inhibitions. I’m just talking about humans making a choice based on what was made before them and before them and…
Kinda vague, I know… Oh, and the intro there was b/c I DON’T WANT ANY ANSWERS SIMPLY SAYING “well, people are generally stupid.” I just don’t want to hear that shit anymore, to be honest. You underestimate the reasoning faculties of other Americans, even if they don’t know Chaucer the way you do.
andrew . I’ve moved this to the Pit for you. While you finally got around to asking your question, you put in so much shit with it that I made the decision that you really wanted a rant. Fine.
Please try to think critically about where you start your threads. I’m getting tired of moving them from GQ.
Yeah…I don’t think that last part is going to be a problem. I’m pretty sure your OP is not going to generate a lot of replies about people being generally stupid…
I’m with you. I think it’s a form of collectivist self-preservation. It’s not that people are stupid, it’s that they do not feel it is necessary to devote any mental bandwidth to anything but their own personal problems and the next reality TV show.
I wouldn’t think that people tend to do their most critical thinking in a grocery store line. So when someone ahead of them jogs their memories with reminders that paper is probably better to use than plastic, they’ll be more likely to think to ask for it. I don’t know that there is a psychological term for having your brain “nudged,” but at my age, I appreciate it.
I agree with you. I don’t think that “they” are stupid. Anecdotal evidence to the contrary just sticks in our minds longer.
Andrew, is this more about you and how you view the world than the subscribers to this message board? Are you afeared of being one of the masses that you secretly distain?
I agree, there are a few that speak from a superior vantage point, but not really that many. There also tends to be an overabundance of IQ and not quite as much EQ at times. but not often.
Frankly, this whole thread could have been avoided if the OP had known his Chaucer better.
The Grocer’s Tale
*"It’s my terne in this tale medieval
I hold a story up my sleevel
So all pleas hede this ogre sing
of stupid folke and Krogering.
"Sheepe lyke plastick, lemmings paper
Or be preference merely vapor
Do shoppers really know the score
Or parrot what juste cayme before?
“Wot thee this pray tell me now
Ere I get mad and starte a row
Throwing tantrums in the Pyt
'Bout Nazis, Doctors, Ghosts and Shyt.”
“Calm downe, thou loon,” advised the Reeve
You act as though ye do believe
Their choyce of sack bespekes some truth
In thy inebriated youth.
“It doesn’t matter now or then
For classifying other men’s
A game for adolescent snobs
With too much free time in their jobs!”
And though the lad fain would deny it,
He soon subsided, and was quiet.*
–Or, in the modern translation,
"If you knew Chaucer
like I know Chaucer,
Oh! Oh! Oh, what a guy!
His verse was deelish
He wrote in Middle English
And he got famous
Even though he didn’t finish
"We went shopping
Geoff wouldn’t carry,
'Cause there ain’t no
plastic bags in Canterbury
If you knew Chaucer
like I know Chaucer,
Oh! Oh! Oh, what a bard!
