Actually haven't worked in either, I work in a warehouse. But I read all the stories on NotAlwaysRight and, well... yeah.Sniper Team 4 said:Hey, imagine that. Someone shares my feelings--and probably my pain.Chessrook44 said:
Are there no stupid people anymore?
- Thread starter IOwnTheSpire
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There's always going to be someone for whom the most contrived explanation imaginable is more tolerable than the honest truth. The fact that your uncle's theory makes no sense is irrelevant to him, precisely because that theory of his plays into what he desperately wants to believe.tippy2k2 said:
Considering, I wouldn't call it stupidity so much as a very choosy take on rhetoric. Give me a big enough soapbox and I'll be able to draw a berjillion lines and degrees of separation between the aerospace and dairy industries, thereby incontrovertibly proving that the moon is indeed made of cheese. I'll be pulling my "sources" out of extremely biased corners of the Web, of course, but research is still research.
If there's one thing university dissertations have convinced me of, is that it's possible to sell an industrial freezer to a trapper roughing it in the Siberian wilderness, if you're sufficiently convincing. Unfortunately, the only thing people like this need is a decent standard-bearer - and there's a ton of those on the Web. Take Alex Jones or Kent Hovind, for instance.
As far as I'm concerned, anyone who has time and brainpower to spare in putting these insane theories about the Bilderbergs, the Lizard Men or Elvis not being dead has plenty of creative intelligence to spare. They're just not inclined to use it systemically, because the cold grasp of Reason doesn't give you a warm sense of validation the way a decent crackpot theory does.
Oh, there are plenty of stupid people. I have a coworker that is quite stupid. I joke that I often ask myself, "What would he do?" Then, I do the opposite. I would give examples of his idiocy, but too many of them are about his personal life. One being pretty recent, and also why he is out of the state at the moment.
Oh, but I did meet his brother once. Despite the fact that we have worked together for years, and I was sure he had complained about me, his brother had no idea who I was. Until I mentioned how he constantly (hypocritically) complains about how I benefit from the "friends and family plan" at work. Then, his brother knew me. Apparently, he only refers to me as "friends and family plan".
And let's just say I know a couple, and can't help but think the guy is with his girlfriend because she is attractive. Intelligence and common sense certainly aren't her forte. She is nice, though. Just not very smart.
Oh, but I did meet his brother once. Despite the fact that we have worked together for years, and I was sure he had complained about me, his brother had no idea who I was. Until I mentioned how he constantly (hypocritically) complains about how I benefit from the "friends and family plan" at work. Then, his brother knew me. Apparently, he only refers to me as "friends and family plan".
And let's just say I know a couple, and can't help but think the guy is with his girlfriend because she is attractive. Intelligence and common sense certainly aren't her forte. She is nice, though. Just not very smart.
i read a few stories from there and my mom works in retail so i get a few stories from her as well about stupid peopleChessrook44 said:Actually haven't worked in either, I work in a warehouse. But I read all the stories on NotAlwaysRight and, well... yeah.Sniper Team 4 said:Hey, imagine that. Someone shares my feelings--and probably my pain.Chessrook44 said:
Well the two are pretty much synonymous on the internet, it doesn't matte if you actually believe the dumb shit you say or say it to get responses, to anyone observing your nonsense shit looks the same in both cases.
And the troll will always be regarded a dumbass anyway.
And the troll will always be regarded a dumbass anyway.
I think it's rather cynical to just say people are stupid, if that certainly was the case it be a miracle we had any type of functioning society at all.
I think, buy and large the problem is people are stubborn and egotistical. How often does anyone actually admit their wrong? How often does anyone readily admit they don't know enough about a topic? Like the old saying goes, a man that admits he knows nothing is really smart.
Posters have brought up retail stores, yes how many customers have I gone back and checked signs on only to assure them that an item was not on sale... Nope not good enough, they switch to the position that it's misleading so their still not wrong and save face. That's not stupidity, that's stubborness.
And I'm pretty sure anyone posting in this thread, including myself, has been some strangers idiot before and done something foolish. So stop acting all high and mighty that you're somehow the only human living in the planet of the apes.
I think, buy and large the problem is people are stubborn and egotistical. How often does anyone actually admit their wrong? How often does anyone readily admit they don't know enough about a topic? Like the old saying goes, a man that admits he knows nothing is really smart.
Posters have brought up retail stores, yes how many customers have I gone back and checked signs on only to assure them that an item was not on sale... Nope not good enough, they switch to the position that it's misleading so their still not wrong and save face. That's not stupidity, that's stubborness.
And I'm pretty sure anyone posting in this thread, including myself, has been some strangers idiot before and done something foolish. So stop acting all high and mighty that you're somehow the only human living in the planet of the apes.
"Stupid" though is often dismissive, the reason my eldest relatives refer to homosexual people as "The gays" and believe marriage should be between a man and a women, is because they come from a different time period when these things were not only socially acceptable, but practically the only way to think. It's sad that they have not grown to feel differently in the face of society, but that's "stubbornness", not stupidity.
If someone believes vaccines cause autism and so refuse to get their child vaccinated, despite all the research proving otherwise, that's "ignorance" not stupidity.
I'm not saying these people get a pass for their behavior, I'm just saying it's not due to a genuine lack of intelligence.
That being said, I have the capacity and have also in my life have done things that other people would consider stupid (particularly when driving, really just stay away from me on the road), but if I do something stupid, I feel genuine remorse for it and usually apologize. I've found the older I get, the less I really know (and have become almost afraid of weighing into controversial subjects because I admit that I don't know much about them) and instead usually opt to understand why someone has taken the stance they have, rather than trying to change their opinion.
So OP, to answer your question, no, I suppose there aren't many "stupid" people anymore, they have been reclassified to more accurate terminology.
If someone believes vaccines cause autism and so refuse to get their child vaccinated, despite all the research proving otherwise, that's "ignorance" not stupidity.
I'm not saying these people get a pass for their behavior, I'm just saying it's not due to a genuine lack of intelligence.
That being said, I have the capacity and have also in my life have done things that other people would consider stupid (particularly when driving, really just stay away from me on the road), but if I do something stupid, I feel genuine remorse for it and usually apologize. I've found the older I get, the less I really know (and have become almost afraid of weighing into controversial subjects because I admit that I don't know much about them) and instead usually opt to understand why someone has taken the stance they have, rather than trying to change their opinion.
So OP, to answer your question, no, I suppose there aren't many "stupid" people anymore, they have been reclassified to more accurate terminology.
I didn't often think customers were stupid as much as they were lazy or ignorant [footnote]There's a giant sign that says "Kids" right in the middle of the store that is viewable from the door and they ask me if I sell kids shoes.[/footnote] For what the difference is worth, or inconsiderate. I do think everyone should be required to work at least two years in one of these jobs as since then, I try to be mindful of things such as store hours and signage, and if I'm getting angry in line, I tend to get angry at the asshole giving the cashier a hard time, rather than the cashier for not getting to my order quick enough (because they're busy dealing with the asshole).Chessrook44 said:
There are people who regularly watch Fox News, MSNBC, or CNN and take everything said or claimed as gospel.
There are people who genuinely believe Evolution, Global Warming, and the Moon landings are all lies perpetuated by evil scientists and the gov'ment.
There are people who honestly believe the pyramids were constructed by aliens.
There are people who legitimately think Donal Trump or Hillary Clinton would make an ideal POTUS.
Yes, stupid people exist. In great numbers, in fact.
There are people who genuinely believe Evolution, Global Warming, and the Moon landings are all lies perpetuated by evil scientists and the gov'ment.
There are people who honestly believe the pyramids were constructed by aliens.
There are people who legitimately think Donal Trump or Hillary Clinton would make an ideal POTUS.
Yes, stupid people exist. In great numbers, in fact.
I fully believe that the vast majority of humanity is quite stupid. Well... more blissfully ignorant than stupid. They are happy in their own small bubbles of existence and to be honest, I find it hard to fault them for that.
Stupid people exists, but I don't cast the word quite so broadly. For me, stupidity means lacking the ability apply critical thinking, and even then people can be more or less stupid depending on what what the subject is. My father thought World of Warcraft and Call of Duty fell into the same genre and can requires me to explain everything very simply when talking about games or the game industry, but he knows far more about finance than I could ever hope, or wish to know. Interest is a major factor in these things. Lots of the Trump supporters out there are people whom I assume lack both an interest in the political system, as well as the self-awareness to realize that they don't know jack about politics. Still, that doesn't mean they're stupid in all possible fields of knowledge.
Basically, if someone's completely stupid and not just in particular fields, then that means he or she has a stunted ability to learn in any field, a.k.a. that person is clinically retarded.
Basically, if someone's completely stupid and not just in particular fields, then that means he or she has a stunted ability to learn in any field, a.k.a. that person is clinically retarded.
Mention to him that there's a character in Genesis named "Oholibama", which clearly is an ancient endorsement of Obama's presidency.tippy2k2 said:
Send me a videotape of the results.
LOL, clearly you have never worked in retail because I can tell you that you will very quickly see that their are plenty of very very stupid people out there. The key factor that separates someone who is stupid and someone who is trolling is money. The second that money drops in to the equation, or the possibility that someone may lose money no one is going to troll for lols if it will cost them but my god will people be properly stupid.
There's an old saying that goes something like this: "cleverness is the only thing that's surely spread equally across the planet, because not a single person ever complained they lack some"