# The War On Stupid People **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 20, 2016, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410 "2016-08-20T13:25:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/21 "2016-08-20T16:41:21Z")
Also, as Gump’s Mama said “stupid is as stupid does” – “stupid” DOES NOT EQUAL “not an intellectual” or unbookish, nor in any way “learning disabled”… and certainly not “less trained for the new job market”. > [@QuickSilver](#): > > The article mentions popular entertainment shows like, Big Bang Theory, that are part of the “problem” because they glorify intelligence. It fails to address all the popular reality TV shows that glorify and indulge stupidity. Yeah really, that’s a strange point to have made. A comedy about nerds is making everyone else feel inadequate? What a path of destruction must Mr. Spock have carved for 50 years… ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/22 "2016-08-20T16:45:23Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Also, as Gump’s Mama said “stupid is as stupid does” – “stupid” DOES NOT EQUAL “not an intellectual” or unbookish, nor in any way “learning disabled”… and certainly not “less trained for the new job market” So what do people here mean when they say “stupid”. Could you give me an example of what “stupid” is? ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/23 "2016-08-20T16:51:01Z")
And the solution to this is to deliberately create inefficiencies just so we can hand someone a job that doesn’t need doing, just out of a sense of pity? That’s just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. And I would agree that we seem to be suffering the opposite problem. In a world with anti-vaxxers and climate change denialists, stupidity and anti-intellectualism remain a huge problem. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/24 "2016-08-20T17:34:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Plus, anyone glorifying the 50s has to explain why that golden age wasn’t just a result of “every other industrialized country in the world was bombed into ruins during WWII” and also has to add “if you were a straight, white male” on the end of every superlative he or she uses: _The 1950s were a golden age for the American Worker [if you were a straight, white male]._ When you don’ have to compete with any foreign works and you don’t have to compete with 3/4 of the folks in your own country, it can be a grand ol’ time indeed! Let’s not forget all that Cold War military spending (financed by a 90% tax rate). Lots of good jobs coming out of that. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/25 "2016-08-20T17:47:17Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > How do we deal with this issue going forward into the future? Why should we? Those people are just stupid. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/26 "2016-08-20T17:50:55Z")
Except no one paid 90%. That was the tax rate for the most wealthy but was offset with lots of shelters and deductions. It was also an era with 10k homes and 20¢ gas. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/27 "2016-08-20T17:58:53Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Let’s not forget all that Cold War military spending (financed by a 90% tax rate). Lots of good jobs coming out of that. Remind me again how many people actually paid that 90% tax rate? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/28 "2016-08-20T18:17:47Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Remind me again how many people actually paid that 90% tax rate? The fact was taxes were significantly higher in order to support government spending. I doubt many of the people who wax nostalgic for the fifties would want to go back to that kind of economic policy. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/29 "2016-08-20T18:47:49Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I mean, the Egyptians didn’t need any fancy schmancy “machines” to build the pyramids!! I thought it was the Greeks. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/30 "2016-08-20T18:50:56Z")
> [@SigMan](#): > > I thought it was the Greeks. :rolleyes: No. The Greeks were the ones who built Rome in one day. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/31 "2016-08-20T18:57:51Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > Let’s expand this comparison not just to the 1950s, but to all of human history before that! Going back to medieval and ancient times, the vast majority of the population were illiterate farmers (stretching back even further, they were illiterate hunter-gatherers). It didn’t require a lot of brains for you to have an accepted role in society, to feel good about yourself, and to earn a living. Until there was a famine and you and your family died, that is. Hobbes had a reason for calling life nasty, brutish and short. I suspect there were smart farmers who paid attention to what worked and what didn’t, and stupid farmers who did things the old way and were the first to go in a famine. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/32 "2016-08-20T19:51:32Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > There are more options in life then college graduate or ditch digger. The world needs carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and other skill tradespeople. Yes, but the world only needs so many skilled tradespeople. They are not now, nor will they ever be a majority of the workforce and competition for some of those positions can be stiff. It is _not_ easy to get an IBEW( electrician) apprenticeship, just as an example. While it is all well and good to suggest the trades as an alternative to college, that still leaves another large segment that won’t be able to get those jobs either. In the 1950’s-1970’s in particular manufacturing was the answer and it still is for some. But the service jobs that are replacing manufacturing just don’t pull the same weight. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/33 "2016-08-20T19:55:10Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Well, that’s true. I suppose I meant that along with the other things I listed that make things challenging for me. Along with having a lower IQ and not being able to finish college, it’s just insult to injury. That’s why I said I was a certain type of stupid and have stupid in quotes. > > It’s not just the learning disability. I have a very difficult time problem solving. > > Is that an adequate answer? Or did I miss interoperate your post? What I meant was that your post contained no stupidity. Your comment was well considered and well communicated, the personal epistemological approach you describe is rational and the fact that you face your mental challenges in a way that allows you to formulate and act upon this rational and pragmatic method tends to repudiate a charge of stupidity. So if that term can be commonly used for the person described in your post(s), maybe we (as a society) need to work on tightening the usage a bit. Unfortunately, I don’t think that person we’ve described is quite typical of poor problem solvers, judging purely by our fellow members of society who are literate enough to post comments on You Tube and reddit. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/34 "2016-08-20T21:06:40Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > No. The Greeks were the ones who built Rome in one day. Really? I thought it was the Vikings. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/35 "2016-08-20T21:25:47Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > Here’s an [article](http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/07/the-war-on-stupid-people/485618/) in The Atlantic that I think raises some very good points: > > David H. Freedman goes on to talk about the social stigma against people with below average IQs and their limited prospects today. He’s not talking about retarded people either, but those who simply aren’t bright enough to get a college degree. > > This is going to be even more problematic with the rise of automation and artificial intelligence. The less brainy amongst us, those who aren’t smart enough to be lawyers and engineers, will be the first on the chopping block. Freedman suggests the government provide incentives to companies to resist automation, but I think that’s only going to delay the inevitable. > > How do we deal with this issue going forward into the future? Resist automation so stupid people aren’t irrelevant? That author is a fool. I guess it’s a plan for self-preservation. Let’s say overpopulation is ever an issue. How’d that be addressed? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/36 "2016-08-20T21:27:19Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > As a professor at a not-especially-selective state university, I think this is a real and growing problem (although I’m not a big fan of the use of the word “stupid” in this context). I see a _lot_ of young people who are not especially academically inclined, and in some cases may not be capable of doing college-level work at all, but who feel like they have to get the degree because they believe (often accurately) that they won’t be able to get a job that pays a living wage without it. A few of them end up being a good fit in programs like culinary arts, but a lot more of them drop out with nothing but debt and a handful of C-range grades in miscellaneous subjects to show for their efforts. > > I don’t know what the solution is, but I think a good start would be raising the minimum wage. Manufacturing may be a lost cause, but it’s not that there AREN’T still plenty of service-industry jobs that don’t require a huge amount of intelligence. (The author of the article speculates that truck drivers and waitstaff may someday be automated out of existence, but this hasn’t happened yet, and we’ll also need more people to care for the elderly as the population ages.) The real problem is that there’s a massive pay and prestige gap between those jobs and professional jobs that require a college degree, and I’m not sure there absolutely has to be. You know why college students aren’t ready for college work? Schools promote them immorally. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/37 "2016-08-20T21:31:41Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Socially I’m doing ok… but when it comes to working, paying bills, filling out forms… I’m very disadvantaged. My IQ is through the roof, and I could say the same about me. Except perhaps for “doing ok socially”. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/38 "2016-08-20T21:36:14Z")
I’m so smart I’m stupid. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/39 "2016-08-20T21:40:00Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > You know why college students aren’t ready for college work? Schools promote them immorally. You’re correct that ending social promotion would largely end the problem of unprepared students _in colleges_, but it wouldn’t solve the larger problem of what to do with people who aren’t capable of learning the complex skills that lead to professional jobs in the current economy. Failing a grade isn’t going to magically make someone smarter. People who have a hard time mastering reading, math, and abstract thinking would still exist and would still have problems finding employment that pays well enough to support themselves; they’d just be high school dropouts rather than college dropouts. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410/40 "2016-08-20T21:43:06Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > The article mentions popular entertainment shows like, Big Bang Theory, that are part of the “problem” because they glorify intelligence. It fails to address all the popular reality TV shows that glorify and indulge stupidity. The Big Bang Theory is a stupid example. Its humor derives from mocking the excessively brilliant, not from promoting intelligence. Similarly, the article ignores the strong element of anti-intellectualism that has long run through the U.S. culture. The 1950s? That was when there were as many attacks on Stevenson for being an “egghead” as promotion of Eisenhower for being a war hero. There have been some rather (may I say it) stupid attacks on people who lack college degrees for certain occupations. Cleveland had a major industial company gutted in the 1970s when a new college-focused CEO began eliminating anyone without a degree among executives who had years of on-job experience and I worked at a company where various excellent managers were locked below an education ceiling because they did not have the required degrees. However, in both cases, the problem was a focus on education, not intelligence. Do we face a potential problem with people being shunted to the side for a lack of paperwork indicating their levels of education? Quite possibly. Do we have the potential to create an environment where technical expertise renders too many people unemployable? Again, possibly. However, the point of the linked article looks at those situations through the wrong end of the lens, suggesting that they were not sufficiently smart to understand the actual problems we face. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-war-on-stupid-people/763410.md?page=3)