# The Flying Morons - another plane delayed by a fucking idiot **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 7, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219 "2016-05-07T20:51:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/261 "2016-05-15T11:33:46Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > You mean Hoboken? From the looks of him, NYC, upper east side. šŸ˜ƒ He looks like half the kids I grew up with near Philly. Moroccan or Levantine?? Not to me. You are a bit of an expert in Levantine or Maghrabi phenotypes?:dubious: There is a trope you need to familiarize yourself withā€¦[phenotype stereotype](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PhenotypeStereotype). ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/262 "2016-05-15T11:37:33Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Iā€™m going to guess that those who inhabit the countries around the Mediterranean look, well, Mediterranean. Yes mostly, why I said North Moroccan or north Tunisian or Levantine (maybe coastal Levantine). It is obvious that the stereotype image in the imagination of him is the Middle easterns all look like the Saudi hijackers or the Iraqis seen on the TV. But of course it is not the case. of course this highlights how stupid the asking of a general public that has only badly informed stereotypes to be reporting ā€˜suspicionsā€™ (or maybe it is simply stupid to then be taking action on stupid reports blindly, but this is what the Security Bureaucracy does unless it has strong insulation from short term politics). ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/263 "2016-05-15T11:57:28Z")
[Pic of the Italian prof.](http://www.fakt.pl/m/crop/380/217/faktonline/635982968124492584.jpg) [Composite of the terrorist leader.](http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/461A/production/_87264971_jesus_bbc.jpg) Leave it to Doorhinge to think there is a similarity between the two. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/264 "2016-05-15T16:09:12Z")
[Taliban Manifesto.](https://ptilondonteam.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/imran-khan-ka-paigham-by-imran-durrani.jpg) [College Math.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dkTlMwsUNic/maxresdefault.jpg) Leave it to **Doorhinge** to think there is a similarity between the two. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/265 "2016-05-15T16:28:28Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [Taliban Manifesto.](https://ptilondonteam.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/imran-khan-ka-paigham-by-imran-durrani.jpg) > > [College Math.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dkTlMwsUNic/maxresdefault.jpg) > > Leave it to **Doorhinge** to think there is a similarity between the two. :mad: Are you fucking kidding me? Thats not a ā€œTaliban Manifestoā€. Thats a write down of a pre-election message given out by Imran Khan before [2013 election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imran_Khan). Or are you actually dumb enough to think that every thing written in ā€œArabicā€ looking script is a ā€œTaliban Manifestoā€. I suppose it would be too hard to expect you to, you know actually check whats written before you post it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/266 "2016-05-15T16:37:20Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > :mad: > Are you fucking kidding me? Thats not a ā€œTaliban Manifestoā€. Thats a write down of a pre-election message given out by Imran Khan before [2013 election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imran_Khan). > > Or are you actually dumb enough to think that every thing written in ā€œArabicā€ looking script is a ā€œTaliban Manifestoā€. I suppose it would be too hard to expect you to, you know actually check whats written before you post it. Nice catch-Accidental link from wrong tab. Islamic State Manifesto link [here.](http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/6857546-3x4-340x453.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/267 "2016-05-15T16:48:44Z")
What are you doing reading Pakistani election literature. I never read it and I voted for that guy. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/268 "2016-05-15T16:56:33Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > What are you doing reading Pakistani election literature. I never read it and I voted for that guy. > > šŸ˜ƒ If you try to Google images of ā€œTaliban Manifestoā€, you have to sort through a lot that _isnā€™t_ to get an image that even vaguely corresponds. Again, I apologize for that first link from my reject pile-in my defense, I was typing and making an omelet at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/269 "2016-05-15T17:52:25Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [College Math.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dkTlMwsUNic/maxresdefault.jpg) Thatā€™s college math? How sad. (I admit itā€™s been a while since I took math, but that looks like high school algebra.) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/270 "2016-05-15T18:02:53Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Thatā€™s college math? How sad. > > (I admit itā€™s been a while since I took math, but that looks like high school algebra.) Consider the audience I was aiming for-I had to make it _somewhat_ recognizable. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/271 "2016-05-15T18:14:07Z")
Differential equations: [http://www.sharetechnote.com/image/EngMath\_DifferentialEq\_Representation\_02.PNG](http://www.sharetechnote.com/image/EngMath_DifferentialEq_Representation_02.PNG) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/272 "2016-05-15T19:50:39Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > ā€œWorld wide derisionā€? HAHAHAHA. Youā€™re a hoot. FTR, Iā€™ve seen reports of that incident in Spanish and Italian media. Anybody from Australia, Singapore, Thailandā€¦? ---
**Author:** ![lilihob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a9adbd/32.png) [@lilihob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilihob)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/273 "2016-05-15T20:03:42Z")
[http://www.techly.com.au/2016/05/09/professor-kicked-off-flight-after-his-equations-were-mistaken-for-terrorist-code/](http://www.techly.com.au/2016/05/09/professor-kicked-off-flight-after-his-equations-were-mistaken-for-terrorist-code/) Australian news ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/274 "2016-05-15T21:07:31Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > [Pic of the Italian prof.](http://www.fakt.pl/m/crop/380/217/faktonline/635982968124492584.jpg) > > [Composite of the terrorist leader.](http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/461A/production/_87264971_jesus_bbc.jpg) šŸ˜ƒ Is he the leader of the Judean Peopleā€™s Front, or the Peopleā€™s Front of Judea? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny2Bad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@Johnny2Bad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny2Bad)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/275 "2016-05-15T22:50:52Z")
By definition, the average American has an IQ of 100. The average College Graduate (about 30% of the adult population) has an IQ of 120. You could interpret those figures a number of ways, and there is no reasonable way to know what is correct, but it does leave a few possibilities, such as 60% of the population has an IQ of 90, or 30% of 80. Regardless, (and there are other ways to speculate on the relative proportions in the adult population) the point is there are a lot of people who are not that bright, who are ignorant of certain facts, who are poor at comprehending what theyā€™ve read, or who simply have no interest whatsoever in re-visiting the subjects they were supposed to learn in High School. None of the above is a crime; in fact itā€™s perfectly normal. So, itā€™s hard to condemn people for doing things that some might find as evidence of some form of intellectual dysfunction or deficiency. As much as Iā€™d like to, I simply canā€™t reasonably advocate some form of punishment for ill advised reports to the authorities regarding suspicious behavior, and thatā€™s the end of it. (Now, deliberate mischief is quite different, and should be dealt with differently, but if there is sufficient proof of that, then there is sufficient grounds to prosecute, on a case-by-case basis. I see no contradiction between the two). In short, we have to let the woman off the hook for this one. It is also illustrative to note that the above represents the makeup of the voting public. Itā€™s a miracle we do as well as we do, considering. I would also like to comment on her taking a different flight than the majority of passengers seated on the original one. Some have suggested here that she didnā€™t feel comfortable returning to the same passenger compartment as before where the Professor might be encountered. I would think itā€™s at least possible that perhaps ā€¦ I dunno ā€¦ maybe 100% of the passengers and almost certainly the entire crew (and including possibly a different crew, for the usual regulations on how long airline employees can do this or that would have applied) knew who was responsible for the 2-hour delay and associated inconvenience. Under the circumstances, I wouldnā€™t want to return to a flight with those same people, let alone the Professor. As for ā€œher side of the storyā€, the actual Journalistā€™s doctrine would be ā€œequal time for dissenting opinionsā€ rather than a ā€œsideā€ of a story, and itā€™s a bankrupt doctrine at that ā€¦ it means, for example, giving the same 10 minutes to the guy who claims the planet Venus is made of purple batā€™s guano as the NASA spokesman who has a different idea of what the planet is made of. Not to mention that anyone who expects _any_ information source to be unbiased, is simply naive to the extreme. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/276 "2016-05-15T23:28:55Z")
> [@Johnny2Bad](#): > > In short, we have to let the woman off the hook for this one. Why? This has nothing to do with education or math or whatever. Simple fact: a random person seated next to you scribbling anything at all on a piece of paper represents in no case any sort of imminent threat to yourself or to anybody on an aircraft you happen to be on. Doesnā€™t matter if itā€™s math, poetry, a love letter, or part of an actual nefarious scheme. Further, under no circumstances (that arenā€™t mind-blowingly stupid) would even an actually suspicious person sit in a public place like an airplane and write down a nefarious scheme to be enacted at an indeterminate date in the future. There was no imminent threat here. Nor was there any credible (or even incredible) threat to anybody down the line. None. There is absolutely no reason to let anybody off the hook for thinking there was. We donā€™t let other people off for less stupid shit than this. But because somebody raises the possibility of even the barest hint of not actual terrorism but the mere fear of terrorism, weā€™re supposed to give free passes? Iā€™m not inclined to give bigots free passes just because weā€™ve collectively lost our shit. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/277 "2016-05-15T23:35:35Z")
> [@Johnny2Bad](#): > > As for ā€œher side of the storyā€, the actual Journalistā€™s doctrine would be ā€œequal time for dissenting opinionsā€ rather than a ā€œsideā€ of a story, and itā€™s a bankrupt doctrine at that ā€¦ it means, for example, giving the same 10 minutes to the guy who claims the planet Venus is made of purple batā€™s guano as the NASA spokesman who has a different idea of what the planet is made of. Not to mention that anyone who expects _any_ information source to be unbiased, is simply naive to the extreme. This paragraph is idiotic in the extreme - even more idiotic than the rest of your pseudo-intellectual post. No-one calling for her side of the story has been doing so on the grounds of ā€œequal time.ā€ My only concern with hearing her own side of the story would be to learn what was in her own mind when she made the decision to report the professor. She is, by definition, the only person who can tell us that. Getting peopleā€™s testimony about their own motivations and reasons for doing things is perfectly reasonable, is a time-honored aspect of journalism, and has nothing to do with your blathering about the doctrine of equal time. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/278 "2016-05-15T23:40:14Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Thatā€™s college math? How sad. > > (I admit itā€™s been a while since I took math, but that looks like high school algebra.) This. Ninth grade first-semester algebra mostly, with a hint of high-school trigonometry added in. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/279 "2016-05-16T00:57:29Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > This. Ninth grade first-semester algebra mostly, with a hint of high-school trigonometry added in. It frightened her then - it frightens her still. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219/280 "2016-05-16T03:15:08Z")
> [@simster](#): > > It frightened her then - it frightens her still. LOL! THATā€™S THE REASON! It has to be. Or she had a relentless middle eastern math teacher who failed her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flying-morons-another-plane-delayed-by-a-fucking-idiot/754219.md?page=15)