The Triumph of Stupidity

https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/07/25/Triumph-of-Stupidity/

Pretty good article. It’s amazing how much damage stupidity can do, and how hard it is to undo the damage once it’s done.

Ravana said: The role of stupidity in modern times is precisely what got the Liberals re-elected in April. Click to expand... Good sign you’re stupid- having a fuck trudeau sticker on your truck. [IMG_9425.jpeg]

Education: something conservatives can't pronounce, spell or complete.

Complex topic and one that hits every aspect of what I suppose is the civilized world. Not just conservatives (way too all encompassing a general term) but more like the masses. Somewhere along the way, not just education, but some common sense and the ability to stay on a 'moral/ethical' compass got screwed up. It comes up all the time now including places where you would expect or maybe now just hope, it would not. Stupid is Strong has so much more meaning today than it ever did in the past.

Save the griping about politics for the right thread.

I’ve never considered myself smart, but with all the stupid people around me, I am starting to wonder if I am rather bright. I’ve always gotten by by being super organized and planning ahead. But I have always been amazed both at work and on the road just how badly a stupid person can mess me up. Particularly at work I could not believe how much of my time was wasted by one particularly stupid person. And we are talking hours per day over 20+ years.

kayakboi said: I’ve never considered myself smart, but with all the stupid people around me, I am starting to wonder if I am rather bright. I’ve always gotten by by being super organized and planning ahead. But I have always been amazed both at work and on the road just how badly a stupid person can mess me up. Particularly at work I could not believe how much of my time was wasted by one particularly stupid person. And we are talking hours per day over 20+ years. Click to expand... Your manager and/or the business owner no doubt. JD

kayakboi said: I’ve never considered myself smart, but with all the stupid people around me, I am starting to wonder if I am rather bright. I’ve always gotten by by being super organized and planning ahead. But I have always been amazed both at work and on the road just how badly a stupid person can mess me up. Particularly at work I could not believe how much of my time was wasted by one particularly stupid person. And we are talking hours per day over 20+ years. Click to expand... I think we should always be worried whenever we start feeling like everyone else is stupid. I’m not saying some people aren’t stupid, but sometimes we’re the dumb one and we just think we’re too smart. Humility is not (often) a trait of stupid people.

SmikeSmith said: I think we should always be worried whenever we start feeling like everyone else is stupid. I’m not saying some people aren’t stupid, but sometimes we’re the dumb one and we just think we’re too smart. Humility is not (often) a trait of stupid people. Click to expand... And sometimes stupid is as stupid does. We all manage occasionally to do something stupid at some point, but some people do make it a full-time occupation.

Half of the population has an IQ below average.

masterblaster said: Half of the population has an IQ below average. Click to expand... Half of them can't even spell IQ.

masterblaster said: Half of the population has an IQ below average. Click to expand... You can still have an above average IQ and be stupid. It's a wild concept!

There is a Forest Gump quote here somewhere.......

HunkyBill said: You can still have an above average IQ and be stupid. It's a wild concept! Click to expand... Possible I suppose but if one has a below average IQ chances are excellent you are stupid.

masterblaster said: Possible I suppose but if one has a below average IQ chances are excellent you are stupid. Click to expand... The way I look at it. High IQ does not prevent stupidity. IQ tests measure abstract reasoning, but they do not stop poor judgment or blind influence. Just because someone snores does not mean they have sleep apnea, although it usually does. The same logic applies to IQ. Scoring high does not stop a person from being stupid. The reverse is also true. A low score does not automatically make someone stupid. Stupidity stands apart from intelligence. It shows up when people, including those considered “smart,” let trends, social pressure, authority, popular opinion, greed, money, status, who or what they chase, or what and who they control dictate their actions and decisions. High scores mean nothing when stupidity pokes through in people’s choices, Someone who has practiced or learned the test format can do well on IQ exams, but their real-life actions and choices, whether online or offline, show just how tone-deaf and stupid they can be. Academically, they may not be stupid, but when it comes to emotional intelligence? They almost always are and are easily duped or influenced by social media including mainstream media, and trends. George Carlin said, “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” Thinking a high IQ is a shortcut to wisdom or common sense is fantasy. Bill Burr nails it with his Steve Jobs analogy. Everybody says Jobs changed the world, but Jobs was not the guy in the garage soldering wires, sandblasting glass, or writing code. He just barked, “Make it thinner,” “Make it better,” and sat back while armies of actually smart people handled all the hard work. But Jobs gets all the worship and headline credit, just because he pointed his finger in the right room. That is how surface-level and stupid success and intelligence can get. The loudest guy in the room, the one handing out orders, ends up as the “genius” even while real talent is invisible. Even those with the highest IQ ignore this fact. The Triumph of Stupidity...

This thread and recent world events made me think about what could have been 'stupid' examples over the years and for whatever reason a book I read came to me. There was a terrific book back in the 80's, " The Soul of a New Machine," by Tracy Kidder " a fictional but seemingly pretty accurate detailing of DataGeneral's 32bit machine development (mainframe stuff, IBM, DEC, DataGeneral). Engineers working under heavy timelines. Generally all really smart folks but a good part of the story arch was about the dept. head who would pop in now and then with mandates but a lot of the time was sitting in his office looking off into space. At the end of the book it was detailed that that guy was the one who made the engineering changes on the prototype boards, a wire from point 123 to point 789 that kind of thing. Barely noticed in the great scheme of things. He didn't design but he held the full concept and operation in his head and made the changes after hours. Didn't come across as high IQ in the traditional sense but no doubt the guy being portrayed was in that genius layer. Good example of really f-g smart but might have come across as not all that bright. But back to the stupid out there, I mean the really stupid who are so stupid they have no idea how stupid they are, when they band together - hoo wee, big time stupid shit happens. And I am really holding back writing about you know how and all .xgats that put him there.

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HunkyBill said: The way I look at it. High IQ does not prevent stupidity. IQ tests measure abstract reasoning, but they do not stop poor judgment or blind influence. Just because someone snores does not mean they have sleep apnea, although it usually does. The same logic applies to IQ. Scoring high does not stop a person from being stupid. The reverse is also true. A low score does not automatically make someone stupid. Stupidity stands apart from intelligence. It shows up when people, including those considered “smart,” let trends, social pressure, authority, popular opinion, greed, money, status, who or what they chase, or what and who they control dictate their actions and decisions. Someone who has practiced or learned the test format can do well on IQ exams, but their real-life actions and choices, whether online or offline, show just how tone-deaf and stupid they can be. Academically, they may not be stupid, but when it comes to emotional intelligence? They almost always are and are easily duped or influenced by social media including mainstream media, and trends. George Carlin said, “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” Thinking a high IQ is a shortcut to wisdom or common sense is fantasy. High scores mean nothing when stupidity pokes through in people’s choices, what they do for money, what or who they chase, what or who they try to control, and how badly they miss the obvious. Bill Burr nails it with his Steve Jobs analogy. Everybody says Jobs changed the world, but Jobs was not the guy in the garage soldering wires, sandblasting glass, or writing code. He just barked, “Make it thinner,” “Make it better,” and sat back while armies of actually smart people handled all the hard work. But Jobs gets all the worship and headline credit, just because he pointed his finger in the right room. That is how surface-level and stupid success and intelligence can get. The loudest guy in the room, the one handing out orders, ends up as the “genius” even while real talent is invisible. Even those with the highest IQ ignore this fact. The Triumph of Stupidity... Click to expand... After all that dialogue I’d sooner have an above average IQ than a below average IQ.

masterblaster said: After all that dialogue I’d sooner have an above average IQ than a below average IQ. Click to expand... Wait… when did this turn into a vote?