# Why do we celebrate stupidity? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 27, 2001, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004 "2001-07-27T20:15:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2001, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/41 "2001-08-08T11:30:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kingpengvin \* > \*\*Why is it that “you think too much” has become an insult? > > I get the same response when I make any observation that anyalises anything. \*\* We are moving (have moved) into a Post-Modern society where rational thought is not prized as highly as it used to be under Modernity. Personal experience and Emotional experiences are being given higher creedence and “spiritual” things (toward which your friends angels and “precious moments” collection are a token (and not particularly meaningful) gesture) are growing in popularity. No longer can we convince someone else of the right/wrongness of their thoughts/beliefs/actions, because at the end of the “discussion” they can simply say “Well that’s what **you** believe.” - to which there is simply no response… _sigh_ Gp ---
**Author:** ![Tretiak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@Tretiak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tretiak)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2001, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/42 "2001-08-08T15:38:57Z")
Celebrate stupidity? That’s unpossible! ---
**Author:** ![Hibbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ce73a5/32.png) [@Hibbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hibbins)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2001, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/43 "2001-08-08T16:52:11Z")
grimpixie, I blame it on diversity gone haywire. Being accepting and understanding of people who are different than you has gotten corrupted into **having to suffer fools**. ---
**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2001, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/44 "2001-08-08T18:58:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kingpengvin \* > \*\*…I merely stated, “Think about it how did these babies and become angels?” > > This was promptly rebutted with “you think too much!” > Ok I was being a jerk, but why was that her come back, was that meant to insult me? \*\* No, I don’t think it was meant particularly as an insult. Note that your question began with the words, “think about it.” I think your friend was trying to say that you were being silly, and that she wasn’t too impressed with your criticism either…Obviously, that’s not what her collection means to her. So her logical retort to your pretentious “think about it,” was “you think too much!” I too have been accused of thinking too much, but I think that sometimes this is a valid criticism. Overanalyzing situations and perfectionism can sometimes cloud your perception of what is really important and hold you back in life. ---
**Author:** ![MrWhy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@MrWhy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrWhy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/45 "2001-08-09T06:08:26Z")
This topic brings to mind a pet hate of mine. Those damn “\_\_\_\_\_ for Dummies” books. Who would be seen dead buying a book that labelled them stupid? Why do they sell at all? They are simply insulting We have one at work, and dammit, they really are for dummies. The contents of the whole book would be covered in the first chapter of any real text/instructional book. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/46 "2001-08-09T08:21:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hibbins \* > \*\*grimpixie, I blame it on diversity gone haywire. > > Being accepting and understanding of people who are different than you has gotten corrupted into **having to suffer fools**. \*\* One of my Favorite Sayings: “Never argue with an idiot - they drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” Not sure who this is attributed to… gp ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Stewart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Dave\_Stewart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Stewart)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/47 "2001-08-09T10:25:06Z")
Well, I’ve only seen Survivor and one episode of the Australian version of Big Brother… They have the fascination of a car crash. They’re so cringeworthy you have to watch. Besides, I recently read a transcript of argument before the Australian High Court in a trade mark dispute between Nike and a Spanish company with a similar trading name. Half of the six judges didn’t know who Michael Jordan was. One of them kept calling him “Malcolm Jordan”. These judges are very smart people. But half of them didn’t have their finger on the pulse of what was happening in popular culture. It may be embarrassingly horrible, but do you really want to be that out of touch with the majority of people? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/48 "2001-08-09T15:44:46Z")
Tretiak wrote: > [@](#): > > Celebrate stupidity? That’s unpossible! **WOOOOOOOO! GO STUPIDITY!! WOOOOOOOO! PAR-TAAAAY!!!** ---
**Author:** ![TheRob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@TheRob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheRob)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/49 "2001-08-09T18:36:22Z")
I’m pretty smart and I hate seeing someone on a show who is smarter than me, 1) it makes me slightly jealous and 2) it’s not entertaining. Now I know networks are not concerned much about number 1, but number 2 makes me want to change the channel, and that’s something the networks are very concerned about. So stupidity, whether we like it or not sells, (much better than intelligent anyway) and that’s all that matters. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/50 "2001-08-11T19:44:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheRob \* > **I’m pretty smart and I hate seeing someone on a show who is smarter than me, 1) it makes me slightly jealous and 2) it’s not entertaining.** That’s sad. That is truly sad. Hell, I quit watching game shows when I realized how stupid and ignorant so many of the contestants were. _Jeopardy_ is the only one I’d watch now. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2001, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/51 "2001-08-12T01:32:18Z")
I think there is an undercurrent nowadays that thought that isn’t applied directly to a problem (especially an economic problem) is impractical. The flip side of this is to celebrate idiocy as being “too smart to spend all that time thinking when you could be out making money.” I think this flows in part from some of the more famous captains of industry (Bill Gates might be considered an exception here). I think that vibe of “I didn’t graduate Ivy League, but I’m making piles of money” is fairly prevalent. Another way to look at it is that there is a strong disdain for the contemplative life. Life should be all action and no thought. We’re hurtling toward the culmination of that attitude at light speed. ---
**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 12, 2001, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/52 "2001-08-12T03:23:46Z")
I once read tabloid profile on the million dollar winners from _Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?_. Most of these people, who were reasonably intelligent, were doing intelligent things with their money like investing it or paying off debts. But the article was mocking them as being foolish because none of them had gone off on spending splurges. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2001, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/53 "2001-08-13T04:14:09Z")
I remember hearing about a study in an article somewhere (darn it, I can’t find a cite!) which found that the more ignorant someone was, the less likely they were aware of just how ignorant they were. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2001, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/54 "2001-08-13T18:39:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chrome Spot \* > \*\*I think there is an undercurrent nowadays that thought that isn’t applied directly to a problem (especially an economic problem) is impractical. The flip side of this is to celebrate idiocy as being “too smart to spend all that time thinking when you could be out making money.” \*\* IOW, “If you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?” ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2001, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/55 "2001-08-13T19:28:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Little Nemo \* > \*\*I once read tabloid profile on the million dollar winners from _Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?_. Most of these people, who were reasonably intelligent, were doing intelligent things with their money like investing it or paying off debts. But the article was mocking them as being foolish because none of them had gone off on spending splurges. \*\* That tells me more about the tabloid’s level of stupidity than about the winners. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/56 "2001-08-13T20:43:05Z")
> [@](#): > > **(tracer)** I remember hearing about a study in an article somewhere (darn it, I can’t find a cite!) which found that the more ignorant someone was, the less likely they were aware of just how ignorant they were. Corollary: The more I learn, the more I recognize just how much I don’t yet understand. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/57 "2001-08-14T02:17:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DocCathode \* > …Though the 3 Stooges, Chaplin, or Buster Keaton were inteligent people and skilled performers, their characters gained fame through idiocy… I have to disagree with you about Keaton. I’ll admit some of his characters were naive, and sometimes over-enthusiastic, but there was always a great cleverness in the way he managed to get out of his predicaments. Watch the scene in _The General_ where he’s wrestling with railroad ties on the front of the locomotive and tell me you saw that coming. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004/58 "2001-08-14T03:28:05Z")
**London\_Calling:** > [@](#): > > The people who do buy those newspapers and who did vote (probably repeatedly) might celebrate stupidity – I couldn’t possibly comment – but they aren’t necessarily, IMHO, representative of the whole. Of course they aren’t; haven’t you noticed how incredibly thumbworn all the copies are in the checkout lanes at the supermarket? I just pick a long line, snatch a copy of the most bizzare tabloid cover, and thumb through it while moving glacially forward. By the time I hit the checkout, I can put it back, pay the cashier, and be on my way, smugly confident that there are plenty of people in the world more stoopider than I am. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-stupidity/74004.md?page=2)