# So, what's the point, Konrad?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [December 2, 1999, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354 "1999-12-02T08:48:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@neuro-trash\_grrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neuro-trash_grrrl)
#### Post date: [December 6, 1999, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/21 "1999-12-06T01:26:00Z")
Oh, why are we even paying him any attention? He’s shot himself in the feet so many times that you could strain spaghetti with his shoes.
* * *
“That’s entertainment!” —Vlad the Impaler
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### Author:  [@ChrisCTP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisCTP)
#### Post date: [December 6, 1999, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/22 "1999-12-06T05:03:00Z")
Here’s the thing, Konrad. As an adult person who’s paid attention to a few things, I could certainly be condescending if I wanted to be. The fact of the matter is, I wasn’t, not in the slightest. I’m just curious why you insist on being a wiseass when it’s clear that you have the potential to NOT be a wiseass. Obviously, you’re not stupid. That’s not to say that you don’t every right to be a wiseass, I’m just curious, personally, why you choose insolence over intelligence?
Now, in response to this:
> [@](#):
>
> The world is not always logical… sometimes, things just are as they are and that’s all there is and, oddly, it’s the way it should be.
You said the following:
> [@](#):
>
> I see we have wildly differing views about reality.
If my views on reality are that radically different from yours, it’s only because I’m no longer looking at reality through the rose-tinted glasses I wore when I was your age. I’ve come to realize that things don’t always make sense, the future is never as I thought it would be, and reason and illogic are always fighting with one another. The problems change, but they don’t decrease in number or importance. People would be a lot less stressed if they would just realize that all they have to do is be what they are and let others do the same.
* * *
“…all the prettiest girls live in Des Moines…”
–Jack Kerouac, _On the Road_
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### Author:  [@bj0rn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bj0rn)
#### Post date: [December 7, 1999, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/23 "1999-12-07T10:18:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> ## quote from konrad:
>
> ## …I’m using logical arguments…
>
> ## reply from chrisctp:
>
> ## no, you aren’t.
>
> (konrad again):
> Yes, I am. No, you aren’t. And you’re telling me to work on my content?
its a reply based on the logic of the original statement. didnt you notice how it was explained later?
> [@](#):
>
> Watch as bj0rn stands in the middle of his glass house and begins hurling rocks haphazardly.
well well…and people wonder why rousseau is stupid?
> [@](#):
>
> I see we have wildly differing views about reality.
congratulations! mentally you have gained one year of life. perhaps they will start calling you a teenager now…who knows.
> [@](#):
>
> If you’ll do me the favour of actually reading the thread, my argument was not really about whether or not it’s deserved, but whether or not the people complaining about bigots are any better than the bigots themselves.
you said “deserved”!
to connect those 2 statements you have made(the last 2 quotes): if you expect other people to respect your view about reality, you should better respect theirs! its obvious that you do not, or you wouldnt get replies like you have been getting.
bj0rn
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### Author:  [@Rousseau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rousseau)
#### Post date: [December 7, 1999, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/24 "1999-12-07T21:04:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> and people wonder why rousseau is stupid?
## I think you’re getting the two of us mixed up again, bj0rn.
The IQ of a group is equal to the IQ of the dumbest member divided by the number of people in the group.
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### Author:  [@WallyM7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WallyM7)
#### Post date: [December 7, 1999, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/25 "1999-12-07T21:09:00Z")
Bj0rn, every time I read one of your posts I get a headache.
Are you working for the Aspirin company?
* * *
I lost track.
Is this today?
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### Author:  [@bj0rn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bj0rn)
#### Post date: [December 8, 1999, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/26 "1999-12-08T10:26:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I think you’re getting the two of us mixed up again, bj0rn
yes perhaps i am, but unlike you i am an individual. not affected by group intelligence like you are.
i can tell you though that i have never ever gotten the two of us mixed up! not now, not ever(did you know that is how never was invented ;)).
wally: that would be your fault, not mine. for your information aspirin isnt sold in iceland, its an illegal drug or something like that.
bj0rn
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### Author:  [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)
#### Post date: [December 8, 1999, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/27 "1999-12-08T14:01:00Z")
bj0rn says:
* * *
not affected by group intelligence like you are.
* * *
… or any other intelligence, for that matter 🙂
Aspirin is an illegal drug in Iceland ? That MUST be a joke. I mean, I know The Netherlands are probably a bit more tolerant towards drugs than Iceland, but ASPIRIN ??
## How 'bout them sulphurite fumes then ?
Coldfire
* * *
“You know how complex women are”
- Neil Peart, Rush (1993)
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### Author:  [@Byzantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Byzantine)
#### Post date: [December 9, 1999, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/28 "1999-12-09T06:23:00Z")
The point is very obviously on Konrad’s head. Apparently, his brain was actually a huge pimple. Big words and logical arguments caused the infection to swell dangerously. Suddenly, one big word too many caused it to pop! Try a little zit cream on that, sugar, it might close the hole so you can start the cycle all over again.
* * *
Best!
Byz
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### Author:  [@bj0rn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bj0rn)
#### Post date: [December 9, 1999, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/29 "1999-12-09T11:26:00Z")
byz: thats mean…
coldfire: _gurgle_!!!
konrad: \< the contents of this box could become a highly appraised quality if you were to learn how to use it.
bj0rn - the ‘0’ is important!
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### Author:  [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)
#### Post date: [December 9, 1999, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/30 "1999-12-09T13:05:00Z")
ChrisCTP: First of all I don’t use a thesaurus or a dictionary. I don’t even own either. If I don’t know the right word I’ll make one up. Why waste all that time looking things up?
\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>
Good lord boy, you aren’t Shakespeare! Not using a dictionary or thesaurus, and just making a word up, just makes you look foolish and lazy, to say the least. Hmm well when you find people using words that you dont know, you’ll start to look them up. Wait, what am I saying, you’ll probably just redefine them anyway.
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### Author:  [@Konrad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Konrad)
#### Post date: [December 9, 1999, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/31 "1999-12-09T16:38:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> That’s not to say that you don’t every right to be a wiseass, I’m just curious, personally, why you choose insolence over intelligence?
Firstly, I don’t believe that the two are mutually exclusive. Being arrogant, domineering and generally unpleasent is a highly under-appreciated skill.
Why? Because it’s fun. You just can’t reason with some people, but almost everyone responds to insults.
> [@](#):
>
> I’m no longer looking at reality through the rose-tinted glasses I wore when I was your age. I’ve come to realize that things don’t always make sense, the future is never as I thought it would be, and reason and illogic are always fighting with one another.
Do you understand the difference between correlation and causality? Naive people are more naive when they are younger. They therefore assume that naivite is a characteristic of the young. I am not like you were when you were younger, I never was.
The world is more complicated then you were lead to believe, so you conclude that it is illogical. Don’t assume that everyone shared your past illusions, or that they will end up sharing your current ones.
bjorn: The reason I did not quote your text was because I wasn’t responding to you. Your posts are like the buzzing of flies to me.
Byzantine: Stop being fat.
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### Author:  [@Byzantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Byzantine)
#### Post date: [December 9, 1999, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/32 "1999-12-09T17:44:00Z")
Konrad – oh, sweety, if you only KNEW! Bwha ha ha! It was a nice underhanded lob though. I’d give you 5 points but I’m still concerned about that swelling… hey, WHAT’S that? EWWWWWWW!
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### Author:  [@ChrisCTP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisCTP)
#### Post date: [December 9, 1999, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/33 "1999-12-09T20:49:00Z")
Konrad, I don’t find the world to be complicated at all. When stop to take a breath, you’ll realize that the world is actually very easy.
> [@](#):
>
> Being arrogant, domineering and generally unpleasent is a highly under-appreciated skill.
I wonder why that is.
* * *
“…all the prettiest girls live in Des Moines…”
–Jack Kerouac, _On the Road_
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### Author:  [@Rousseau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rousseau)
#### Post date: [December 9, 1999, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/34 "1999-12-09T21:45:00Z")
Alright Kon-rad. I was going to keep my nose out of your affairs, but I have to step in here. Please note that, although I am about to “attack” you, I love what you said about bj0rn. That was classic. Now, onto my lecturing of you.
> [@](#):
>
> I am not like you were when you were younger, I never was.
Ooooooooh yes you are. Who, exactly, do you think you are? Do you think that you’re some special enlightened teenager, who is so wise beyond his years that he is completely stripped of his childhood illusions. Get real. Admit to the fact that you still are young, and by virtue of that you still are naive, and still without the wisdom of experience that your elders have. I admit this fully.
But I know what you’re saying, because I’ve been there. You think that you’ve got the world all figured out, because you are so goddamned special. You have figured out that you are more intelligent than most people, but this line of thinking (combined with a basic knowledge of statistics) has lead you to the assumption that everyone you meet is less intelligent than you. Stop doing that.
Rule of thumb: no matter how high you score on standardized tests, or how high your IQ might be, or how high your GPA might be, mno matter how wise and sagacious you might think yourself to be, never, ever, ever lecture somebody older than you on life.
On to **bj0rn**!!!
So I say “Maybe you’re getting the two of us mixed up, bj0rn.” And his first clause is “yes perhaps i am,” then precisely 15 words later he goes on to let me know that he was never ever, nor never will, get the two of use mixed up. So bj0rn has evolved from simple and pure inanity to just contradicting himself, which I s’pose is nothing more than a higher form of inanity.
He also threw in that he is an “individual,” (can’t argue with that), and I simply follow “group intelligence.” If he ever dragged his Viking ass out of the Pit, he would figure out that this is not true. However, bj0rn the Conqueror sees me attacking him, and he sees everyone else attacking him, and so in his simple Viking mind he figures that I am just a follower. Why are we still paying attention to this guy?
* * *
The IQ of a group is equal to the IQ of the dumbest member divided by the number of people in the group.
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### Author:  [@Rousseau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rousseau)
#### Post date: [December 9, 1999, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/35 "1999-12-09T21:50:00Z")
BTW, bj0rn, might I suggest taking a cue from **ChrisCTP** and quoting a line from _On the Road_ in your sig? Specifcally, I was thinking of “I have nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion.”
* * *
The IQ of a group is equal to the IQ of the dumbest member divided by the number of people in the group.
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### Author:  [@bj0rn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bj0rn)
#### Post date: [December 10, 1999, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/36 "1999-12-10T09:13:00Z")
konrad:
> [@](#):
>
> I am not like you were when you were younger, I never was.
there will come a time in your life when you think you are all grown up and ready for life. then one year later you will realize you were just a child when you said that. it might even happen more often than once. from the quote i made from you i would assume (as a question) that you havent reached that age yet?
> [@](#):
>
> Don’t assume that everyone shared your past illusions, or that they will end up sharing your current ones
oh…thats good! if it was true it would be even better.
> [@](#):
>
> bjorn: The reason I did not quote your text was because I wasn’t responding to you.
now THATS naive.
> [@](#):
>
> Stop being fat.
if that was really a shot towards your physical appearance byz, i do belive konrad has lost it.
i do not think it was, or perhaps i hope it isnt(doesnt matter really). well anyway, if konrad wants to have the pleasure of explaining it to you i dont want to spoil it ;). it would be like saying, stop being human.
rousseau dear: HELLO!! are you ill or something? you spelled my name right, but misspelled konrads! i thought i was the only one 😉 hehehe.
> [@](#):
>
> contradicting himself
no thanks, not me. first i gave you a thought, then i reasoned it and found out that we were completely different and concluded from that reasoning that i could never ever mix the two of us togeather.
> [@](#):
>
> bj0rn the Conqueror
thats better, correct spelling and all 😉
> [@](#):
>
> , and he sees everyone else attacking him
nope, you are that special only one!
> [@](#):
>
> he figures that I am just a follower. Why are we…
nope, its your sig line. notice the ‘we’ in the quote please.
bj0rn - have you ever seen a group of individuals?
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### Author:  [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)
#### Post date: [December 10, 1999, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/37 "1999-12-10T13:19:00Z")
Rousseau sez:
> [@](#):
>
> Who, exactly, do you think you are? Do you think that you’re
> some special enlightened teenager, who is so wise beyond his years that he is
> completely stripped of his childhood illusions. Get real. Admit to the fact that you still
> are young, and by virtue of that you still are naive, and still without the wisdom of
> experience that your elders have. I admit this fully.
> But I know what you’re saying, because I’ve been there. You think that you’ve got the
> world all figured out, because you are so goddamned special. You have figured out
> that you are more intelligent than most people, but this line of thinking (combined with
> a basic knowledge of statistics) has lead you to the assumption that everyone you
> meet is less intelligent than you. Stop doing that.
> Rule of thumb: no matter how high you score on standardized tests, or how high your
> IQ might be, or how high your GPA might be, mno matter how wise and sagacious you
> might think yourself to be, never, ever, ever lecture somebody older than you on life.
Um, waiter? I’ll have an irony on rye, please? And can you bring an order of crow with that?
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### Author:  [@Rousseau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rousseau)
#### Post date: [December 10, 1999, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/38 "1999-12-10T21:40:00Z")
Hello, waiter? I’ll have a bad joke on toast. And don’t skimp on the misinterpretation.
* * *
The IQ of a group is equal to the IQ of the dumbest member divided by the number of people in the group.
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### Author:  [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)
#### Post date: [December 10, 1999, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/39 "1999-12-10T21:46:00Z")
Considering you’ve just spent 3 pages of a thread lecturing your elders on how much better behaved schoolchildren would be if we’d just have a 2 minute “moment of silence” during homeroom and if we’d just post Biblical material in the classrooms, I really can’t see how you fail to catch the irony. Now go to your room, young man, and no TV for a week.
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### Author:  [@Rousseau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rousseau)
#### Post date: [December 10, 1999, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-point-konrad/3354/40 "1999-12-10T21:51:00Z")
There’s a difference between having an enlightened discussion about a topic like that and claiming that you understand life better than your elders, and that you are somehow wiser than they are.
Heavy on the misinterpretation, just like I asked! Extra tip for YOU, my good man!
* * *
The IQ of a group is equal to the IQ of the dumbest member divided by the number of people in the group.
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