# Good and Dumb or Smart and Evil? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143 "2008-06-25T01:24:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/21 "2008-06-26T02:23:34Z")
Smart and evil sounds more interesting, but then good and dumb is probably easier to keep amused. I have a wife and kid, so does being evil mean that I’m evil to everyone, or just to people outside my personal circle, like Tony Soprano? Because if the latter, smart and evil would probably be able to provide for them better than good and dumb. Regardless, if you have to be dumb, you should definitely be good. Dumb and evil is just a Fark headline (or a Darwin award) waiting to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/22 "2008-06-26T02:32:41Z")
In a Christian paradigm, evil and smart is a paradox. Not witnessing. Don’t hurt me. ---
**Author:** ![GomiBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@GomiBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GomiBoy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/23 "2008-06-26T12:49:38Z")
Evil and smart wins every time… I can’t stand real stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/24 "2008-06-26T22:05:25Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] Besides, I’m on to your scheme. You just want to find all the ‘smart and evil’ people so you can eliminate them. Not gonna work on me! [/QUOTE] But with that slip you’ve identified yourself anyway! Though a really smart person would have realized that, so maybe not…! 😉 I was thinking about this just the other day. I got annoyed at my 9-year-old daughter (who’s quite smart) for saying “I dunno, whatever” to some minor problem I presented her with. She’s not been in the habit of saying that before, and I told her that she should never dumb herself down. “I don’t care if your friends think it’s funny or cool to be stupid, you’re not and you should despise it. Don’t be nasty about it, but when you get right down to it, I’d rather you be a smart jerk of a person than a cheerfully stupid and nice person.” It’s true, too. I like goodness, but I respect smartness, and while I aspire to exhibit both, I’d rather be respected than liked. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/25 "2008-06-26T22:12:46Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight] Regardless, if you have to be dumb, you should definitely be good. Dumb and evil is just a Fark headline (or a Darwin award) waiting to happen. [/QUOTE] You mean, like the [guy in Orange County](http://tinyurl.com/3sfgo6) who was caught on a surveillance camera in the act of stealing… _the surveillance cameras_? He then drove his Mitsubishi pickup truck to get away, and when he heard that the cops were looking for him, he ditched it and stole a vehicle… _…another white Mitsubishi pickup truck_! But wait, there’s more. He attempted to cover up this theft by _replacing its license plates with his own_ (ones that were registered to his name). They don’t get made much dumber than this. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/26 "2008-06-26T23:10:57Z")
Smart and Evil, Smart and Evil all the way! I soooo want to be the next Blofeld 🙂 I’m even writing this from my underground lair! (or my basement apartment if you want to be nitty gritty, but the first one sounds cooler 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/27 "2008-06-27T03:47:10Z")
[QUOTE=robardin] You mean, like the [guy in Orange County](http://tinyurl.com/3sfgo6) who was caught on a surveillance camera in the act of stealing… _the surveillance cameras_? He then drove his Mitsubishi pickup truck to get away, and when he heard that the cops were looking for him, he ditched it and stole a vehicle… _…another white Mitsubishi pickup truck_! But wait, there’s more. He attempted to cover up this theft by _replacing its license plates with his own_ (ones that were registered to his name). They don’t get made much dumber than this. [/QUOTE] Thank you, that story just made my night. 🆒🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/28 "2008-06-27T06:54:49Z")
Put me down for good and dumb. Not much change from the present, really, but I digress… At least I’ll be able to sleep soundly at night. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/29 "2008-06-27T13:49:14Z")
Smart and evil. Smart enough, and nobody would know how evil you really are. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/30 "2008-06-27T23:51:47Z")
Smart and Evil. Why would I want to change now? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/31 "2008-06-28T05:28:40Z")
I believe I’ve been all of these things during my lifetime. Being _dumb_, as you have defined it, is not as painful as you might think. The pleasure of being _ethical_ is more satisfying in the long run that the pleasure of being _unethical_. But I do miss being _smart_. Sometimes I forget about that person altogether. Dumb and ethical. ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/32 "2008-06-28T05:43:44Z")
Good and dumb. Many of my current recreational pursuits seem centered around making me dumber already, so I might as well take good as a bonus. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/33 "2008-06-28T22:52:56Z")
[QUOTE=Kyrie Eleison] Good and dumb. Many of my current recreational pursuits seem centered around making me dumber already, so I might as well take good as a bonus. [/QUOTE] Why is it a bonus? As mentioned before (With examples), evil and dumb is at least entertaining. (For others, granted, but it serves a greater good than being dumb and good does.) ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143/34 "2008-06-28T23:00:59Z")
I don’t know if I’ve been good but I’ve been dumb my entire life; no point in changing now, even if I could. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-and-dumb-or-smart-and-evil/454143.md?page=1)