Almost everybody I know agrees with the statement, ‘there are lots of stupid people out there’. Many agree with ‘most people are stupid’.
Are they actually all stupid? Or do the stupid things merely stand out? And we are ignorant of our own stupidity (fundamental attribution error)? Is IQ related to stupid at all, since high IQ people seem to be the stupidest? (I remember reading that of suicide bombers, most were not poor but better educated, strong evidence that they were higher IQ).
So is everybody stupid, or just everybody else (besides you, the straight dope genius who is going to respond to this thread with your inherent beautiful mind).
I really don’t think so. I think people too easily dismiss people as stupid if they aren’t as smart as they think they should be.
Most people have subjects they are very knowledgeable about while having many they know little about. To write someone off as stupid is denying yourself the ability to learn something from someone else.
I’ve never met anyone I couldn’t learn something from.
I am stupid in many things and moderately talented in a few. I’m also very stupid when I drink too much, am too tired, or am just waking up. I’ve also done stupid things when distracted.
Very few people are knowledgeable outside of a handful of topics. Unfortunately, most people feel like what little they know or think they know about topics that they really aren’t very familiar with, is good enough.
You may or may not be stupid, but you are ignorant as to a reasonable definition of stupid. You are describing ignorance and not stupidity.
As to the OP, I think some of average intelligence is not particularly stupid, even if they frequently act in ways you or I would consider stupid. Our emotions, particularly our fears and desires, color our judgment to the extent that very rarely do people make decisions on purely logical and intellectual criteria. Others’ judgments about the same decisions are clouded in different ways, leading them to believe that the person making a “wrong” decision was stupid or corrupt or both.
People are not sheep. They are, however, pack animals. More like wolves. The analogy works better that way. They find a leader, follow his directives, look for weakness, and if they see it, pile on it and tear it apart.
This is my answer, too; I think you can attribute a lot of what people in groups do to their sheep-like tendencies rather than stupidity. People in groups abdicate their individuality to the group. For example, if you put out two garbage cans and put a piece of garbage in one and not the other, the one with garbage in it already will get used, and the other won’t. The same goes for opening doors - everyone will queue up to use the door that is already opened rather than making the effort of opening another door even if it’s obviously available.
On the other hand, 50% of all people are below average intelligence, and average ain’t much to write home about.
There are a lot of very stupid people out there. I eavesdrop on strangers on the train, and sometimes I hear people talking about other stupid people, or they reveal themselves to be stupid. It is rare to hear a conversation which either reveals or relates actual cleverness. Today’s overheard conversation was about someone who thought they had updated a database by writing with a ballpoint on a print out. The person relating the story had to miss a party to make the updates herself. Sadly, I have had that very experience myself. It reminds me of the guy I knew taking a course in excel who added the numbers up with a calculator or by hand and then entered the totals, and he would use insert shapes to underline the totals and tended to make the lines at varying angles.
I feel like rejoicing when I hear people actually educating others and the conversation shows the pupil is learning. Example, one woman had a doctor she really did not like, who refused to let her see actual test results, and would not even give her a summary without an office visit, and then went on an extended vacation before giving her the result of some important tests. The other women were telling her that she has a right to access her own records and if she is unhappy with her doctor, she should change him. They also told her that the doctor had to send her medical records to a new doctor if she told him to and are not allowed to charge exorbitant fees to do so. She was staying with this guy partially because she thought he would keep her medical records and the new doctor would have to start over.
Despite all the individual idiots out there, studies have shown some positive results for group intelligence: Group intelligence in the news Group intelligence book excerpt
The word you’re looking at is focused. They can do only a few set things well. And often what is important to you isn’t important to others.
A poor person can be dismissed as stupid. But said poor person can take $25.00 and barter it in his neighborhood to make the bills stretch out a week or more. A rich person can’t do that. Why? 'Cause it’s a skill he never had to use, so why learn it?
A cat is no stupider or smarter than a dog. They have different focused.
Other people like myself are intellegent but no longer care. When I meet someone and they say something totally wrong and off the wall, I no longer care. I’m not gonna correct them or educate them, I can’t be bothterd anymore. I just smile and nod.
A stranger seeing this may think I’m stupid for agreeing with that person who said the incorrect information to me. This is false, I just can’t be bothered anymore.
But cats and dogs aren’t rational creatures and by nature cannot be stupid. Only humans have reason and are therefore susceptible to doing things like weaving in and out of lanes on the interstate, or thinking that if you switch doctors, you have to ‘start over’.
And if your hypothetical poor person is good with money, why is he poor? A genius at maximizing his food stamps (instead of getting off welfare?)
The comment usually cracks me up. We’re stupid compared to…?
We are what we are. Human intelligence can’t be compared to any other intelligence in a meaningful way, because as far as we know there is no other real intelligence. We are the only beings on the planet (and maybe the universe) capable of self-awareness, abstract thought, and complex language. Looks to me that among all known life forms, we’re way out ahead of the rest.
