NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm talking about people who are capable of doing great things, but are just too stupid or lazy to do so, that's my definition of an idiot in this topic. Am I the only one who looks down on them?

Do any of YOU people look down on them as well? Consider yourselves above them?

(Straight yes/no poll because I hate those in-between answers that applies to only 1 person and 10 people end up clicking on it just to be funny)


Particularly I look down on them because I'm in high school, good 'ol freshman year, and the idiots around me continuously ask me to help them or to just do their work for them. Well I'm the opportunistic bastard, and I always get something in return. Money, future homework answers, etc. But it's hard not looking down on them when they rely on other people's knowledge to mask their own idiocity.

Oh, and they are quite easy to confuse and lead astray. Heheh....especially in math.

I try not to look down on anyone, but that's just coming from a little ol' humble Christian.

Capable of doing things...but too stupid to do so? What? That makes no sense.

The lazy part, I can totally understand. I'm one of those idiots. Blessed with great ability, and completely lazy as hell.

I'm talking about people who are capable of doing great things, but are just too stupid or lazy to do so, that's my definition of an idiot in this topic. Am I the only one who looks down on them?

Do any of YOU people look down on them as well? Consider yourselves above them?

(Straight yes/no poll because I hate those in-between answers that applies to only 1 person and 10 people end up clicking on it just to be funny)
May I ask what brought this on? :rolleyes:

I'm talking about people who are capable of doing great things, but are just too stupid or lazy to do so, that's my definition of an idiot in this topic. Am I the only one who looks down on them?


I qualify as in idiot by that definition. I'm smart but lazy. I can't motivate myself.

May I ask what brought this on? :rolleyes:
Well I was just reflecting on how all my friends just so happen to be stupider than me. Only a select few (1 or 2) are actually as smart as me, or close to it.

Raw ego is a hideous monstrosity >.<

Raw ego is a hideous monstrosity >.<
I find ways to cope with it :D

Well I was just reflecting on how all my friends just so happen to be stupider than me. Only a select few (1 or 2) are actually as smart as me, or close to it.
Hmm. Well, since we tend to hang with those most like us ... ! :)

Raw ego is a hideous monstrosity >.<
LOL! Ego? On here??? Nooooo! Can't BE! Tsk! :D

Hmm. Well, since we tend to hang with those most like us ... ! :)
Or....maybe because these people are what the school offers and nothing more? Eh, I shouldn't say that about people. Well I said it. ;)

Or....maybe because these people are what the school offers and nothing more? Eh, I shouldn't say that about people. Well I said it. ;)
[ makes note to pass this statement on to all of Colodia's friends ] :D

[ makes note to pass this statement on to all of Colodia's friends ] :D
Well the swim team won't be very happy....doesn't help that they all have waterpolo practice with me....:eek:

I was under the impression that everyone looked up to "idiots."

Wow this thread has shattered old paradigms and opened new avenues of truth.

I try not to look down upon anyone, but I sometimes find it really hard to do.
Although I wouldn't define idiot as somebody who's just plain lazy. I get angry with people like that but I don't look down upon them.

An idiot to me is somebody with limited intellectual capacities. And I find it VERY hard not to look down upon these people.... when they come in large crowds, they simply disgust me...

I'm talking about people who are capable of doing great things, but are just too stupid or lazy to do so, that's my definition of an idiot in this topic. Am I the only one who looks down on them?

Do any of YOU people look down on them as well? Consider yourselves above them?

(Straight yes/no poll because I hate those in-between answers that applies to only 1 person and 10 people end up clicking on it just to be funny)


Particularly I look down on them because I'm in high school, good 'ol freshman year, and the idiots around me continuously ask me to help them or to just do their work for them. Well I'm the opportunistic bastard, and I always get something in return. Money, future homework answers, etc. But it's hard not looking down on them when they rely on other people's knowledge to mask their own idiocity.

Oh, and they are quite easy to confuse and lead astray. Heheh....especially in math.

Can you say "irony"? :D

Being an under-acheiver doesnt make you an idiot, nor does not being as smart as everyone else.

What makes a person an idiot, is making stupid decisions, over and over, even though that person is fully aware of the consequences.

Someone who is just plain dumb, and not very sharp on the uptake, cant help themselves.
A true idiot is one who does things like nail his wifes sister, or keep a loaded gun under a pillow.

Stupid people dont choose to be stupid.

Idiots make thier own beds.

loaded gun under a pillow.

Thats only idiotic if you live in a house, with kids, who arent educated about guns. Its idiotic to have a gun period, if you dont educate everyone who lives in the house about guns.

Thats only idiotic if you live in a house, with kids, who arent educated about guns. Its idiotic to have a gun period, if you dont educate everyone who lives in the house about guns.


I completely disagree, but this thread isnt about gun control.
If you want to debate that, another thread is probably the best place.

No, actually even idiots look down on idiots. Everyone assumes the other people are the idiots so it incourages a feeling of self superiority for us all to sit around agreeing about how idiotic these mythical "idiots" are.

I'm talking about people who are capable of doing great things, but are just too stupid or lazy to do so, that's my definition of an idiot in this topic. Am I the only one who looks down on them?

Do any of YOU people look down on them as well? Consider yourselves above them?

(Straight yes/no poll because I hate those in-between answers that applies to only 1 person and 10 people end up clicking on it just to be funny)


Particularly I look down on them because I'm in high school, good 'ol freshman year, and the idiots around me continuously ask me to help them or to just do their work for them. Well I'm the opportunistic bastard, and I always get something in return. Money, future homework answers, etc. But it's hard not looking down on them when they rely on other people's knowledge to mask their own idiocity.

Oh, and they are quite easy to confuse and lead astray. Heheh....especially in math.
well i am one of those lazy people, so no. but i try not to 'look down' on anyone anyway.
i mean i'm relatively smart but i'm simply unmotivated - i don't see the point in doing a lot of things, and i get especially demotivated when what i'm doing isn't practical or creative in some way... which would explain why formal education has always been a struggle :headbang:

meh :(

it's hard not looking down on them when they rely on other people's knowledge to mask their own idiocity.

It's "idiocy" actually...sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Edit - New Fuglies you are too quick for me.

There was this cat at my old job, always talked about being isolated for being smart and how the world was full of idiots. Thing is, dude was pretty fuckin' stupid. Cross the board. He wasn't 'absent minded' because he wasn't being engaged by his surroundings-he was just dumb. Easily fooled, never got anything right-would do dumb shit right after you showed him not to. Wasn't good at math, didn't retain information-couldn't even get the shit he was into right. Dumb.

And he called everybody idiots.

With confidence.

I was going to erase the first part to hide my own shiner, but instead I'll leave it as an example of the folly I am so high and mighty about in the following text. Hoisted myself on this one...

If your spending all your time identifying idiots, it might be because you're afraid if you don't someone will do it to you.

Just me.

I'm all too painfully aware of my own shortcomings to look down on anyone else, so my answer would have to be no.

I don't look down upon the genuinely stupid, they can't help it. I pity them though. I do look down upon those too lazy to take their education seriously. In my school we have an advanced learning program where bright students can skip a year so as not to hold them back. I'm in that class and I've seen a lot of my classmates waste so much potential due to laziness. It really is infuriating watching their attitude toward education. Trying to convince them that to do better is just like reasoning with a brick. :headbang:

I don't look down upon the genuinely stupid, they can't help it. I pity them though. I do look down upon those too lazy to take their education seriously. In my school we have an advanced learning program where bright students can skip a year so as not to hold them back. I'm in that class and I've seen a lot of my classmates waste so much potential due to laziness. It really is infuriating watching their attitude toward education. Trying to convince them that to do better is just like reasoning with a brick. :headbang:
Here's a side track question, though-

Do people have to live up to thier potential? What if they genuinely don't want to? And I'm not talking the 'I'm lazy, feed me' response you all might be gearing up, but what if someone is just happy enough with thier stage in life, decides that's good enough for them. Are they obligated by their own talent?

What if they are good at something the simply don't like? Or to do it they'd have to do things they don't like? If they find happeness in something 'lesser,' something perhaps lots of people can do but they enjoy, what of them?

Is it because you can you have to? Isn't deciding not to part of this whole 'free market' thing? Are they now subject to scorn? Why?

Here's a side track question, though-

Do people have to live up to thier potential? What if they genuinely don't want to? And I'm not talking the 'I'm lazy, feed me' response you all might be gearing up, but what if someone is just happy enough with thier stage in life, decides that's good enough for them. Are they obligated by their own talent?

What if they are good at something the simply don't like? Or to do it they'd have to do things they don't like? If they find happeness in something 'lesser,' something perhaps lots of people can do but they enjoy, what of them?

Is it because you can you have to? Isn't deciding not to part of this whole 'free market' thing? Are they now subject to scorn? Why?

It is the persons responsibility to contribute as much as they can to society. To do that they must live up to their potential. I don't want a potential theoretical physicist who could solve the riddle of the universe, out in my garden, trimming my hedges. They are obligated to do the best they can to benefit everyone else.

Here's a side track question, though-

Do people have to live up to thier potential? What if they genuinely don't want to? And I'm not talking the 'I'm lazy, feed me' response you all might be gearing up, but what if someone is just happy enough with thier stage in life, decides that's good enough for them. Are they obligated by their own talent?

What if they are good at something the simply don't like? Or to do it they'd have to do things they don't like? If they find happeness in something 'lesser,' something perhaps lots of people can do but they enjoy, what of them?

Is it because you can you have to? Isn't deciding not to part of this whole 'free market' thing? Are they now subject to scorn? Why?
Only if they have a "Stage Door Mother." :D

I don't look down on them as such... it just annoys me cause they waste their lives, and it makes me sad. People have been given gifts, they should use them

It is the persons responsibility to contribute as much as they can to society. To do that they must live up to their potential. I don't want a potential theoretical physicist who could solve the riddle of the universe, out in my garden, trimming my hedges. They are obligated to do the best they can to benefit everyone else.

That is the dumbest thing i've ever heard CC. I'm one of the people you were talking about who willing choose to waste their potential, and to say that i'm "obligated" to do the best i can to help this shithole of a universe, is, well, the dumbest thing i've ever heard.

I don't look down upon the genuinely stupid, they can't help it. I pity them though. I do look down upon those too lazy to take their education seriously. In my school we have an advanced learning program where bright students can skip a year so as not to hold them back. I'm in that class and I've seen a lot of my classmates waste so much potential due to laziness. It really is infuriating watching their attitude toward education. Trying to convince them that to do better is just like reasoning with a brick. :headbang:

Am i one of those people? I just spent several hours doing homework... chem test, and English assign due tomorrow... :(

It is the persons responsibility to contribute as much as they can to society. To do that they must live up to their potential. I don't want a potential theoretical physicist who could solve the riddle of the universe, out in my garden, trimming my hedges. They are obligated to do the best they can to benefit everyone else.
Is it really that much of a benefit?

Take Lunatic Goofballs. He's a physist that gave it up to be a clown. He was good at being a physist, but he loves being a clown. He's still contributing, but in a way that he loves.

Is he a bad person because he does something he loves instead of something he's good at that few are?

Or my buddy-masters degree in materials engineering. Brilliant at it. Worked for Aerojet. Day he got his masters he went, "this is as far as natural talent will take me." We laughed. We didn't realize what he was saying was he was only doing it because he was talented at it. After making a screen for the sensor equipment on a guided missle he threw his hands up. He didn't want to make weapons. He didn't care about materials. He went back to school and is now a guidance counseler helping at risk youths. Earns half what he did as an engineer.

But he's not making missles. Does he have to be an engineer? Just because he's talented? Aren't these two examples contributing still, but in ways that make them happy rather than ways dictated to by a proclivaty towards one skill over another?

Is the 'pursuit of hapiness' really just 'pursuit of money?' All just a screen? Or can't we decide to be happy over being rich?

That is the dumbest thing i've ever heard CC. I'm one of the people you were talking about who willing choose to waste their potential, and to say that i'm "obligated" to do the best i can to help this shithole of a universe, is, well, the dumbest thing i've ever heard.

You'd say something like that wouldn't you. This wouldn't be such a shithole of a universe if people made it better. :headbang:

I don't look down on them as such... it just annoys me cause they waste their lives, and it makes me sad. People have been given gifts, they should use them
Presuming you're on the plane to Cuba (the hijack), why is it a waste of thier lives? What constitutes that waste? Isn't there weight given to the time they would waste doing something that doesn't interest them? Is thier life worth more to you than to them?

Is it really that much of a benefit?

Take Lunatic Goofballs. He's a physist that gave it up to be a clown. He was good at being a physist, but he loves being a clown. He's still contributing, but in a way that he loves.

Is he a bad person because he does something he loves instead of something he's good at that few are?

Or my buddy-masters degree in materials engineering. Brilliant at it. Worked for Aerojet. Day he got his masters he went, "this is as far as natural talent will take me." We laughed. We didn't realize what he was saying was he was only doing it because he was talented at it. After making a screen for the sensor equipment on a guided missle he threw his hands up. He didn't want to make weapons. He didn't care about materials. He went back to school and is now a guidance counseler helping at risk youths. Earns half what he did as an engineer.

But he's not making missles. Does he have to be an engineer? Just because he's talented? Aren't these two examples contributing still, but in ways that make them happy rather than ways dictated to by a proclivaty towards one skill over another?

Is the 'pursuit of hapiness' really just 'pursuit of money?' All just a screen? Or can't we decide to be happy over being rich?

Goofball's shouldn't have left physics, no. As for your buddy, I'm sure that he's making a better contribution to the world as a guidance counceler(sp?). If you're good at it doesn't mean you have to do it, but if what you're good at makes more of a contribution to society than what make's you happy, then you really should do what's best for society.

Goofball's shouldn't have left physics, no. As for your buddy, I'm sure that he's making a better contribution to the world as a guidance counceler(sp?). If you're good at it doesn't mean you have to do it, but if what you're good at makes more of a contribution to society than what make's you happy, then you really should do what's best for society.
The world doesn't need clowns?

*attempts to look down on self*

Nope, doesn't work very well.
I realise that whilst it may be better for people to use any gifts they have, I'm not going to change their minds. It's their choice, and me complaining about it won't do a thing.

The world doesn't need clowns?

LG is a clown? How totally awesome is that?

You'd say something like that wouldn't you. This wouldn't be such a shithole of a universe if people made it better. :headbang:

Yes, lets make the universe better by not letting people do what they want and forcing them into careers they don't want to be in. I can see a lot more suicides in your universe.

LG is a clown? How totally awesome is that?
Totally.

(I used to be one too, but not on LGs level. Best college job ever. Next to being a projectionist...)

The world doesn't need clowns?

I hate clowns. Scare me to death.

Yes, lets make the universe better by not letting people do what they want and forcing them into careers they don't want to be in. I can see a lot more suicides in your universe.

I've said it before.... :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

I hate clowns. Scare me to death.

Yeah, me too (I've read "It") but still, to be a clown would be great!

Presuming you're on the plane to Cuba (the hijack), why is it a waste of thier lives? What constitutes that waste? Isn't there weight given to the time they would waste doing something that doesn't interest them? Is thier life worth more to you than to them?

I mean that they shouldn't give up on doing something they're good at and will probably enjoy cause it takes more effort than they're used to giving...

But i just hate being lazy, i hate the feeling of laziness so that's just me

I've said it before.... :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

CC, i don't know what annoys me more about you. Your headbanging or your child-like obsession with Tink and Lashie.

:confused: :confused: :confused:

www.darwinawards.com (http://www.darwinawards.com) These are the true idiots, doing us the supreme favor by removing themselves from the gene pool.

I've said it before.... :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:
But you haven't explained why, how one contribution is weighted over another and why there is such a strict dictation over which one is made. Another example-

My dad was good at real estate. Really was. Successful, gave his sons race cars. Because thats what he really wanted to do. My dad would have been a mediocre race car driver, he was a good real estate developer.

Now he's neither. He is burnt out and spent, he did something he didn't love until he couldn't hold it together anymore because he couldn't remember why he should care.

He could have had a slightly less successful life doing what he loved, and might have still been in it-or do what he was good at and deal with stress-related pain and starting again in his life.

Why does he have to do this just because it was his potential? Who was that 'best' for? Not me. Sure I had some nifty stuff as a kid, but I now really no longer have much of a relationship with my dad-he is bitter and poor. When I graduated high school is when he lost it all, so he didn't provide a future for his kids (we worked it out, I'm not complaining about that). Was that really for the best?

CC, i don't know what annoys me more about you. Your headbanging or your child-like obsession with Tink and Lashie.

:confused: :confused: :confused:

didn't FB post something along these lines a bout 10min ago? :confused:

didn't FB post something along these lines a bout 10min ago? :confused:

I don't know whether Offensive Language was serious. I know I wasn't (sorry if you thought I was) :p

didn't FB post something along these lines a bout 10min ago? :confused:

Yes he did. And I replied that I do not have an obsession with Tink.

<snip>

guess so, people just need to work out a balance really.

I know a guy who was an engineer at my dad's work but has recently left to become public highschool teacher, i think he's crazy, but if he likes it, who am i to stop him?

Constantly!
Dont care if theyre Low Born or of the Purple Robe A Dumbarse is a Dumbarse!

I don't know whether Offensive Language was serious. I know I wasn't (sorry if you thought I was) :p

C'mon Funky, when am i ever serious? :p

but if he likes it, who am i to stop him?
And that's what I'm gettin' at.

But you haven't explained why, how one contribution is weighted over another and why there is such a strict dictation over which one is made. Another example-

My dad was good at real estate. Really was. Successful, gave his sons race cars. Because thats what he really wanted to do. My dad would have been a mediocre race car driver, he was a good real estate developer.

Now he's neither. He is burnt out and spent, he did something he didn't love until he couldn't hold it together anymore because he couldn't remember why he should care.

He could have had a slightly less successful life doing what he loved, and might have still been in it-or do what he was good at and deal with stress-related pain and starting again in his life.

Why does he have to do this just because it was his potential? Who was that 'best' for? Not me. Sure I had some nifty stuff as a kid, but I now really no longer have much of a relationship with my dad-he is bitter and poor. When I graduated high school is when he lost it all, so he didn't provide a future for his kids (we worked it out, I'm not complaining about that). Was that really for the best?

I'm sorry to hear about your relationship. I weight contributions from a utilitarian point of view. If your dad produced the greatest good for the greatest amount of people by selling real estate, then he should have stayed in the business. Although, I'm not sure that selling real estate produces anymore good for society than he would have produced as a race car driver. So if it made him happier and didn't affect his contribution, he should have been a race car driver.

C'mon Funky, when am i ever serious? :p

Touche, my friend. You're very rarely serious. All those sex jokes kind of tipped me off... :p

Touche, my friend. You're very rarely serious. All those sex jokes kind of tipped me off... :p

Precisely. And now, i must fluffle you.

:fluffle: :fluffle: :fluffle:

I'm sorry to hear about your relationship. I weight contributions from a utilitarian point of view. If your dad produced the greatest good for the greatest amount of people by selling real estate, then he should have stayed in the business. Although, I'm not sure that selling real estate produces anymore good for society than he would have produced as a race car driver. So if it made him happier and didn't affect his contribution, he should have been a race car driver.
I over it-but he makes a good example here.

But say real estate developer was magic food man. There are lots of magic food men out there. My dad (say) was good at being a magic food man, but it's going to grind him to powder before the age of 40. But he could do this other thing, this thing that makes him happy that he won't be successful at but he can do all the way to retirement and enjoy it. Stays happy, stays available to the ones he loves.

Is the one contribution that he's forced to make by accident of birth or circumstance that much better that he has to sacrafice himself to it, especially if the only reason it's a sacrifice is because he has no passion for it and there are plenty of people out there who may not be as good but at least enjoy it? Is a greater good really served in the long view, or have we just ground a man to dust because he 'should?'

Precisely. And now, i must fluffle you.

:fluffle: :fluffle: :fluffle:

:fluffle: :fluffle: :fluffle:

I was getting nervous there because no-one had replied to my post... but now that people have, I feel less guilty.

I'm being kicked off the computer, so I bid all goodbye.

I over it-but he makes a good example here.

But say real estate developer was magic food man. There are lots of magic food men out there. My dad (say) was good at being a magic food man, but it's going to grind him to powder before the age of 40. But he could do this other thing, this thing that makes him happy that he won't be successful at but he can do all the way to retirement and enjoy it. Stays happy, stays available to the ones he loves.

Is the one contribution that he's forced to make by accident of birth or circumstance that much better that he has to sacrafice himself to it, especially if the only reason it's a sacrifice is because he has no passion for it and there are plenty of people out there who may not be as good but at least enjoy it? Is a greater good really served in the long view, or have we just ground a man to dust because he 'should?'

I'm an Atheist Utilitarian. I don't really care about the individual person so long as the greater good is served. If that means that the person becomes unhappy by serving the greater good, so be it.

:fluffle: :fluffle: :fluffle:

I was getting nervous there because no-one had replied to my post... but now that people have, I feel less guilty.

I'm being kicked off the computer, so I bid all goodbye.

Bye Funky Beat. :fluffle: :fluffle: :fluffle: :fluffle:

Hello people. My first post here, so be gentle with me. I'm sorry if it's a bit harsh.

Anyway, I read this
It is the persons responsibility to contribute as much as they can to society. To do that they must live up to their potential. I don't want a potential theoretical physicist who could solve the riddle of the universe, out in my garden, trimming my hedges. They are obligated to do the best they can to benefit everyone else.
And simply had to reply.

If that's the point of an ideal society, plese shoot me right now.
Who want's to live in such an oppressive regime? Why should we dedicate our lives to something our society wants of us, if we don't want to?
I'm beginning to see how those robots in the Matrix got the idea of using humans for batteries, because that quote up there sounds exactly like that.

It's my firm belief we live in societies because we share ideas and ideals, and because working together enables us to do things we cannot accomplish on our own.
The "Ask what you can do for your country" notion I find completely absurd. I simply cannot think of any justification for that sentiment. Why should we throw our lives away on something we neither need nor want, just because some lofty entity demands it?
I thought the whole point of societies was that we can rely on eachother and help eachother, not abuse eachother.
It's nice to know my society will pitch in if I get unemployed. And it's nice for them to know I'll do the same.
It's nice for people like high energy phycisists that we supply them with the gear for their research. And it's nice for the rest of us that they tell us what they are doing.
Basically that's what a society is to me. I don't know whether to loathe or pitty you if you think the point of a society is the above quote, but I'd rather die than live in such a society.
The whole point is to help eachother to be happy, prosper and be safe.
Noone needs a society that ask you to throw away your life for it. It's nonsensical. It's entirely fair to "Ask what your country can do for you". If it isn't, then it's not a desirable place to live. And of course I don't mean you do not have to contribute to a society, but noone should be asked to contribute more than everyone in the society is willing to.

If a potential rocket scientist would rather be a street vendor, then let him. If you don't, you will either ruin his life or force him to flee your oppressive regime. Ask yourself if you would put up with it if you were in his shoes.

In response to the original question. No I don't look down on the ones you call idiots. I will never approve of people who demand something of someone simply because that someone might be able to live up to those demands.
I value freedom. And that means I value peoples right to do with their own life as they please. It's neither mine nor yours, so what right do you think we have to it?!

Of course I appreciate where you come from. But perhaps there's a different way to look at this.
Do you think it's fair of us to expect teenagers to do their very best, even when their own future depends on it?
I don't. What I do think, is that we need to encurage people to live up to their potential. Most people are much happier if they can reach their potential. But Teenagers aren't exactly adults. They generally lack perspective. Perhaps you don't, but surely your classmates do.
Don't be so quick to judge them for this. If they realized they most likely will regret their lack of effort for the rest of their life, they wouldn't be slackers. You hating them for it is just adding insult to injury, and it really doesn't accomplish anything. Not even for yourself.

Think outside the box. If it really bugs you, sit down and think what you can do to change it. Obviously kicking their arses won't help. If there's one thing all teenagers have in abundance, it's defiance. So you'll need to motivate them instead. It's probably not possible to make them realize why it's important they don't fuck up their education. But perhaps you can come up with a few ideas on how to get their attention. You yourself imply the state of things is down to a lack of motivation. So how do you motivate them?

Are there any things that can be done so your class mates will experience immediate gratification?
Is it possible to inspire a sense of competition?
Is it possible to apply their education to some sort of real prjoect, they can watch progress?

If you have any ideas at all, I'm pretty sure your teachers would be more than grateful. Most teachers do what they do because they feel responsible for their students and want them to have a great life full of opportunities. If you can help them accomplish that, they will probably love you for it.

It's easier looking down on them and telling yourself how superior you are... But apart from that being the mark of a future asshole, it may also give you a distorted sense of reality. Be careful, or some day you may be in for a nasty awakening.

All you display is your own lack of respect & understanding. It tells us absolutely nothing about the people you look down on, but it tells us a lot about yourself.

Capable of doing things...but too stupid to do so? What? That makes no sense.

The lazy part, I can totally understand. I'm one of those idiots. Blessed with great ability, and completely lazy as hell.

Man, how's the weather up on your high horse.

Here's a side track question, though-

Do people have to live up to thier potential? What if they genuinely don't want to? And I'm not talking the 'I'm lazy, feed me' response you all might be gearing up, but what if someone is just happy enough with thier stage in life, decides that's good enough for them. Are they obligated by their own talent?

What if they are good at something the simply don't like? Or to do it they'd have to do things they don't like? If they find happeness in something 'lesser,' something perhaps lots of people can do but they enjoy, what of them?

Is it because you can you have to? Isn't deciding not to part of this whole 'free market' thing? Are they now subject to scorn? Why?
No. I refuse. I was always pretty good in maths but couldn't care less. I'm good selling stuff to people who don't need it. Actually I'm very good at this. But no, I'll not study math, I'll not become a sales person.

I was pretty good at school even though I'm very lazy. I don't understand why I would have to work for something I don't want to. I already got straight nines and tens. Would I be that much happier if I had worked hard to get only tens? I don't think so.

I have and will continue to focus on things I enjoy, not things I might be good at.

<snip>

Well congratulations on your first post. :fluffle:

The point of a society is to come together and help each other out so that we can all live more comfortable lives. You may not be happy as a physicist or mathematician, but your life is certainly more comfortable since the guy that invented television didn't become a carpet cleaner like he wanted too. We have to make sacrafices to make our life more comfortable. That includes doing the most you can for society, in return for which society does the most it can for you.

Sorry to post and run, but I've got a very angry father right now. Bye. :fluffle: :fluffle:

-snip-
And he comes out swingin'...

No way to get a post count with thought out and well argued posts, though. You either need to be short and abrassive or irratatingly socratic or both. Or start fluffling...but there are plenty of those cats about...

Hello people. My first post here, so be gentle with me. I'm sorry if it's a bit harsh.

*applauds*

I'm an Atheist Utilitarian. I don't really care about the individual person so long as the greater good is served. If that means that the person becomes unhappy by serving the greater good, so be it.
It goes beyond unhappy, I presented you with a much more complex equation than that. I showed you a man forced down the path rather than the previous examples who stepped off the rails before it was too late.

Does his truncated contribution to something others who, while less talented perhaps, would at least enjoy it enough to finish thier lives doing it, half again as long as the man who was good but didn't care could? Couldn't you weight the more etherial contribution he could make by being happy, in the related effects? A happier man, more likely to have bar-b-ques and go to town hall meetings instead of sink slowly into the funk that will grind out the last of his years-all because that was what he was good-and being good at it is the only consideration? That's too shallow a view of something as complex as a society or the human beings that make it up.

Idiots sadden me - what a waste of potential!

Mathematics comes as naturally to me as speech. My B.S. in Physics, which I'll admit, was quite challenging was challenging for all the wrong reasons; It was a matter of the discipline of jumping through the hoops. When I left college and got a job in the prvate sector, I realized that there was no real... life to what I was doing. No soul. No sense of accomplishment. I'm proud of the fact that I am very good at math. But there's no energy in something that comes easily to you.

On the other hand, there is energy in making people laugh. It's something that I'm passably good at and that gives me a reason to seek excellence.

I love being a clown. I don't miss my old career at all. You'd be amazed at the sense of accomplishment it brings to you when people don't want the show to end.

Idiots have their place in this world. What has no place in this world is deliberate stubborn ignorance. People who are happier not knowing are the real dregs of a society.

Thanks all for the warm wellcome :)

I'm sorry if it was a bit long, I'll try to be more forum friendly. Maybe I should start by mentioning Britney Spears, Hobbits and Halflife 2 :p

Uhm, on with the show... I think you're missing something with your practical ideal.

Not everyone shares it

Remember, societies are not there to hold you back. If they were, who's to stop some religious fanatic from preventing scientists from doing research? - To such fanatics, that is every bit as justifiable as your ideal of regarding your fellow beings as simple worker drones.

Recall your example of the theoretical Phycis guy? I bet he wouldn't stop you from doing what you like. Even if what your ideal life is selfsacrifice to your society. I won't stop you either. You sound like it's important to you, and if it makes you happy, go right ahead. How much or little your society will benefit from your actions are unimportant to me. Ensuring the society I live in can cater to people like yourself is what's important. Everything else is a by-product. Sometimes good and sometimes bad.

But were you to decide how the society I live in worked, I would most likely take up arms against you. In the unlikely event that most of my society shared your veiw, I would relocate. I wouldn't be wellcome anyway ;)

My problem with what you'rer saying is that you are uncompromising. No doubt it's best for a society if the individuals in it dedicates their lives to make it better & more efficient. However, we humans are vastly different. Many of us to the point where we actively try to kill eachother off. A society the size of a country needs to cater to all of us. Not just to you. There has to be room for a multitude of different ideals and lifestyles. Otherwise you might have a great economy and know a lot about the world... But noone will benefit from it, because they will just be spending their lives being miserable and trying to figure out how they can escape from your oppression.

Empathy might be a hippie concept, but it's how the world works. We humans can't work together and be happy without being sympathetic to eachother.

Societies aren't there just so we can throw away our lives and happiness on them. They are there to help us achive those things.

I'm an Atheist Utilitarian. I don't really care about the individual person so long as the greater good is served. If that means that the person becomes unhappy by serving the greater good, so be it.
So you say. Personally I think it's somewhat of an oxymoron.
What is the greater good?
Let's establish some ground rules/concepts.

I believe societies are comprised of individuals. Do you disagree?
I believe we form societies to afford eachother opportunities. Do you disagree?
I believe the happyness & prosperity of all individuals is the primary goal of society. Do you disagree?

That last sentence is also what I believe to be the Greater Good. Like I already said, there is not much point in striving for something that ruins the lives of the ones it's supposed to benefit. I'm sorry to say this, but your idea of the Greater Good sounds very much like a Great Evil.

EDIT: Typo's...

Mathematics comes as naturally to me as speech. My B.S. in Physics, which I'll admit, was quite challenging was challenging for all the wrong reasons; It was a matter of the discipline of jumping through the hoops. When I left college and got a job in the prvate sector, I realized that there was no real... life to what I was doing. No soul. No sense of accomplishment. I'm proud of the fact that I am very good at math. But there's no energy in something that comes easily to you.

On the other hand, there is energy in making people laugh. It's something that I'm passably good at and that gives me a reason to seek excellence.

I love being a clown. I don't miss my old career at all. You'd be amazed at the sense of accomplishment it brings to you when people don't want the show to end.

Idiots have their place in this world. What has no place in this world is deliberate stubborn ignorance. People who are happier not knowing are the real dregs of a society.
That's what I'm talkin' 'bout -Willis.

Thanks man.

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout -Willis.

Thanks man.

Thanks for pointing me to this thread. :)

Actually I look down on people who are too afraid to do the decicion which would make them happier. Leave the lousy job and do what you'va always wanted to do. Happy people are much more productive to society than unhappy people. Work is just part of functional society. And look at the problems in our societies. Do we really need more software or would helping others be more beneficial?

Thanks for pointing me to this thread. :)
Natch.

This little hijack is something that [obviously] is pretty close to me.

I wonder what Colodia is going to think of what happened to his thread...it's tangentially on-topic...

Even though clowns give me the willies..
I would have to say that by being one, you've likely enriched far more lives than you could have with numerical equations.
Thats not idiocy....thats genius.

...right before you consume thier souls....(sorry..more blatant ant-clown propaganda.)

Wow! I thought I was the only one in the world (outside Stephen King books) scared of Clowns! :p
I'm so pleased I'm not alone :)

Wow! I thought I was the only one in the world (outside Stephen King books) scared of Clowns! :p
I'm so pleased I'm not alone :)
Well, when I was doing it I seem to remember drinking of the blood of ill-behaved children, but I don't know that there was any reason to fear us...

I have never given anybody any reason to fear me...

...that can be proven in a court of law. :D

I have never given anybody any reason to fear me...

...that can be proven in a court of law. :D

LOL

Actually, idiots can be a fine source of entertainment...

My definition of an idiot is someone who accepts whatever they are told by others uncritically. Laziness or lack of ambition doesn't really enter into it much, unless their laziness prevents them from looking into something pretty thoroughly before accepting it as truth, at least where it affects them in some way. And if their laziness prevents them from looking into a matter because it really doesn't affect them one way or another, then at least they shouldn't pass it on to others as if it were "gospel," so to speak ("gospel" being one of the items in question, of course).

The point of a society is to come together and help each other out so that we can all live more comfortable lives. You may not be happy as a physicist or mathematician, but your life is certainly more comfortable since the guy that invented television didn't become a carpet cleaner like he wanted too. We have to make sacrafices to make our life more comfortable. That includes doing the most you can for society, in return for which society does the most it can for you.

But the thing is, the guy who invented television didn't do it because he was forced to, he did it because it was something that interested him enough to push him into making that discovery. Your example has nothing to do with your argument - in fact, it kind of hurts it, because you're just pointing out how doing something you enjoy rather than you are forced into for apparently being good at can also benefit society.

My definition of an idiot is someone who accepts whatever they are told by others uncritically. Laziness or lack of ambition doesn't really enter into it much, unless their laziness prevents them from looking into something pretty thoroughly before accepting it as truth, at least where it affects them in some way. And if their laziness prevents them from looking into a matter because it really doesn't affect them one way or another, then at least they shouldn't pass it on to others as if it were "gospel," so to speak ("gospel" being one of the items in question, of course).
Ah man-that's a definition I can get behind. Theres a chick at my work who buys into just about anything and almost nothing she tells me checks out. For instance-

She believed Fitness Celebrity John Bastow died in the Tsunami. She actually fished me into this because I was able to find a single article on it. My bad for not thinkin' "There aught to be more than one." Bastow has never even been in the area.

She believed Andy Kaufman had returned via blog.

She stated that they made Dogtown and the Z-Boys in a pre-emptive strike against Lords of Dogtown because they where going to 'ruin it.' Lords... is written by the director of Dogtown...

Those aren't super examples, but rather three points used to chart her 'arc of guilability.' Frustrating, but it makes it easy to tease her without her taking it personally. I don't really look down on her, but wish she was more critical. Maybe she will be. Hopefully.

I look down on idiots if they're shorter and up if they're taller.

If they're much taller I try not to stare.

just a little motherly advice here

if you must look down on idiots DONT LET THEM KNOW IT!

an idiot scorned is in a position to make your life hell.

he'll piss on your hedge and kill it. he'll fuck up the transmission of your car. he'll spit on your pizza. he'll knock you down and kick the shit out of you. he's too stupid to realize he'll end up in jail for it.

my neighbor is an extremely smart man. he used to work at sandia labs. he knows our countries nuclear secrets....

he made the huge mistake of letting a local paper pusher know that he thought she was an idiot (she is). this ended up costing us several hundred dollars in fees and almost meant that we would have to find a new access to our land. so who was the idiot? the paperpusher or the nuclear scientist?

I'm talking about people who are capable of doing great things, but are just too stupid or lazy to do so, that's my definition of an idiot in this topic. Am I the only one who looks down on them?

Do any of YOU people look down on them as well? Consider yourselves above them?

(Straight yes/no poll because I hate those in-between answers that applies to only 1 person and 10 people end up clicking on it just to be funny)


Particularly I look down on them because I'm in high school, good 'ol freshman year, and the idiots around me continuously ask me to help them or to just do their work for them. Well I'm the opportunistic bastard, and I always get something in return. Money, future homework answers, etc. But it's hard not looking down on them when they rely on other people's knowledge to mask their own idiocity.

Oh, and they are quite easy to confuse and lead astray. Heheh....especially in math.



just like to point out that the actual word comes from latin...meaning not interested in polotics

...No way I'm reading these 6 pages...

No Colodia, you are not alone. I too look down on idiots. ;)

On the other hand, there is energy in making people laugh. It's something that I'm passably good at and that gives me a reason to seek excellence.

I love being a clown. I don't miss my old career at all. You'd be amazed at the sense of accomplishment it brings to you when people don't want the show to end.

Idiots have their place in this world. What has no place in this world is deliberate stubborn ignorance. People who are happier not knowing are the real dregs of a society.

Yeah i agree with that, my opinion of "idiot" from the first post was someone who chooses to be lazy, not work etc. you on the other hand just chose a different profession :)

It annoys me when people just sit around at home all day when they could be out doing things

It annoys me when people just sit around at home all day when they could be out doing thingsWhat if sitting around at home all day is what makes someone happy?

I'm talking about people who are capable of doing great things, but are just too stupid or lazy to do so, that's my definition of an idiot in this topic. Am I the only one who looks down on them?

Do any of YOU people look down on them as well? Consider yourselves above them?

(Straight yes/no poll because I hate those in-between answers that applies to only 1 person and 10 people end up clicking on it just to be funny)


Particularly I look down on them because I'm in high school, good 'ol freshman year, and the idiots around me continuously ask me to help them or to just do their work for them. Well I'm the opportunistic bastard, and I always get something in return. Money, future homework answers, etc. But it's hard not looking down on them when they rely on other people's knowledge to mask their own idiocity.

Oh, and they are quite easy to confuse and lead astray. Heheh....especially in math.

Acorrding to your definition i suspect you'd consider about 90% of the world idiots. Of course, if they're too stupid that's another thing, but i think everyone is too lazy to reach their full potential most of the time.