Humans are generally stupid as well as remarkably intelligent.
Edison ‘discovered’ electricity, and gave us power into our homes, but was not the nicest guy old history books portray him as. He got into a battle with General Electric, who produced better alternating current to his limited direct current and even though he knew their form to be superior, did everything he could to put them out of business. He ran off one of his greatest helpers because of his meanness and because he took full credit for the discoveries the man made. In the end, he ruined himself. So, really intelligent and very stupid.
We always thought our past heroes were fully pure, patriotic Americans, doing for the public good, but the Boston Tea party was incorrectly recorded, several of the instigators were selling their own tea and the ship was loaded with cheap tea, not the heavily taxed stuff. So, to possibly preserve their own interests, the instigators got the famous Tea party going, and the instigators who did not sell tea, did it to prevent the breaking of the American boycott against British Tea. Remarkably brilliant propaganda but stupid for altering the history books.
Shortly after movies came along, the producers started faking battle and news scenes and passed them off a real life. People believed it for years, right up into the 60s. By then, people got smarter and started noticing things out of place. The News industry hurt itself by this not illegal act and misrepresentation but, the producers of these movie shorts, shown in theaters, thrived. Really smart, but stupid in the long run.
Take 1000 people and ask them to make a decision on a question, which can be answered yes or no, and you’ll wind up with around 200 or so who wind up with other answers.
Humans are very, very smart but greedy, selfish and competitive. They will ruin themselves battling against those who oppose anything anyone else finds wrong with their actions. See the many corporate battles over poisoning whole towns. They did it. They know they did it but they don’t want to pay millions in fees, even if their actions, through ignorance or deliberation, so they fight the lawsuits for years, often hoping the participants give up or die off.
The Kennedy’s and the Rockefeller’s made their billions through illegal bootlegging activities, which means they got people killed, yet both families are virtually considered royalty, indicating the crime does pay.
Not every human is responsible for the commercial pollution, just the owners of the companies who resist spending money to clean up their acts, because they want as much profit as possible. Someone once said that there is no such thing as bad profit. Very intelligent to create and run a major, complex, a polluting, industry which supplies various needs but very stupid in resisting clean up operations over money.
Going to the moon was two things. First, beating the Russians into space and second, determining how humans could handle space travel. Out of it has sprung a several stage program for getting to Mars, the cooperation of nations in building a space station, thousands of types of previously unknown uses for technology developed for space, several independent companies trying to get into space cheaper and, not involved with the NASA/Government complex of red tap, finding cheaper methods that might be better. We have already gotten landers on Mars, pushed computer technology even further than though because of space travel, which has spilled over into the civilian sector, including great medical discoveries and techniques which save more lives than was ever possible even 30 years ago.
The only problem with NASA was that some congressmen got irritated at the billions going to the space industry and greedily managed to get the budget cut. They had also been lobbied by private industrial groups, desiring a piece of the pie, so NASA had to start bidding out to private contractors.
Humans create laws to regulate themselves, and while many are crappy, the core laws show remarkable insight into justice and equality, protecting people from the animalistic desires of others, going beyond the traditions of various religious laws, and giving the weak equal standing against the strong. It used to be legal to gun down someone you disliked in a ‘fair fight,’ but not anymore. It used to be legal to own the only water source for a town, and then restrict it but not anymore.
Humans developed laws to protect us from corrupt monopolies, after one billionaire owned so many rail roads, news agencies, industries and oil wells that he almost gained control of the US.
Humans developed laws to keep scammers from selling us medicines that did nothing but probably kill people. Like snake oil. Then they developed laws to prevent the once legal wife beating. Then laws to keep a parent from killing any children. Remember in the Bible, the father could kill his sons for any reason without fear of repercussions?
Humans developed serums to wipe out smallpox and polio. They have developed surgical techniques using a probe and tube which eliminated the massive surgical incisions, lengthy hospital stay afterwards and caused major trauma to the body. Humans created the one thought impossible lens replacement for cataract patients. That operation used to require hours in surgery, followed by days, immobile and flat on one’s back, not being allowed to move, followed by thick corrective glasses and sun shades.
Now, the cataract removal or lens replacement can be done in an out patient clinic, the person goes home that day, with shades, and rarely are the old, thick glasses needed. Pretty smart I’d say.
Look at the CAT scan machine. It opened up previously undreamed of medical and practical applications and has saved countless lives. Artificial bone has been developed, bypass operations, once complex, dangerous and requiring a lengthy stay in the hospital are now done routinely, simply and require only a day or two stay before going home.
Examine the great strides in computer technology. From a huge machine too big to fit on a desk that took hours to set up to solve a problem, to tiny, hand held machines you carry with you. Computers also have saved tremendously on resources by elimination of the millions of tons of paper once used to keep records on. Pretty intelligent, no?
Look also at the various early computers which did not get along with each others programs and then the magical invention of Microsoft that allows computers to work together. (Naturally, because Bill Gates has become a billionaire, suddenly many people gripe about his product, but few recall what a real problem it was without MS.)
Look at the new cars. The survivability rate from a serious accident is triple what it was back in the 60s. Tires that used to wear out after a few thousand miles now can last for years. (Toyo tires.) Cars that were considered shot after 60,000 miles now are considered ‘used’ after 100,000. New oils keep engines in good condition after 200,000 miles. Pretty smart.
I can go on and on and on. Like unsinkable small boats, new life preservers, specially disease resistant – not genetically altered – hybrid vegetables, then genetically altered ones. Better, smaller radios, phones, televisions, fire resistant furniture, paints, clothing, safer over the counter medications and product liability laws.
It used to be that I could walk up to you and punch you in the face and cops would not give a darn. Now, you can have me arrested, prosecuted and sued. Bars used to encourage people to drink. Remember the bar snacks put there for ‘your convenience’? They had a different agenda. All were very salty for two reasons, one to make you thirsty and drink more and two, to ease the hunger many boozers get, which makes them leave the bar to go eat. Bar tenders loved lushes and once they left the building, whatever happened was not their concern. Now, they can be prosecuted for letting folks get too drunk, and the bars snacks have mostly vanished, at least the real salty ones.
(Bar tenders used to add salt to peanuts and snacks to make them even saltier.)
So, over all, while humans can and are generally stupid, they also are remarkably brilliant.
Hey! Humans are still evolving towards maturity. There is a huge change in attitude and intelligence from the 1940s to now and things are still changing. It takes time.
