NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, to coin a phrase; I see stupid people everywhere.

Maybe I'm elitist, but has anyone here notice the rapid increase in the number of *really* stupid people?

Take this, I'm sitting up stairs at work, having a smoko as one does, and dear lord, the verbal diarrhoea is almost ass paralysingly painful - dear god, its as though the only thing in these peoples lives is either whats in the local Womens Weekly or who had slap 'n tickle with some person on their favourite reality television programme.

Now, thats ok, its only 15 minutes I have to put up with that crap for, so off I go back to work - all good.

I finish work, I come back home, throw on dinner, and flick on the switch of my laptop and head off to my favourite IT sites to get the latest information - and god almighty, the thickness of IT people to the realities is amazing - the assumption that because they can put up with the half-asssed replacements provided by the OSS developers on sourceforge, that somehowever, everyone should jump off Photoshop and head off to GIMP - which as a side issue is a fucking usability nightmare and just plain horrific to look at - I get the same reaction when I see a naked woman.

Anyway, am I the only one here noticing the world becoming more stupid by the day? the inability for people to atleast form a coherient conversation that actually goes beyond the realms of popular culture? they can actually form and opinion which actually is based on an ounce of reason rather than some pathetic reactionary knee jerk reaction to an issue.

Anyway, am I the only one here noticing the world becoming more stupid by the day? the inability for people to atleast form a coherient conversation that actually goes beyond the realms of popular culture? they can actually form and opinion which actually is based on an ounce of reason rather than some pathetic reactionary knee jerk reaction to an issue.

I'm not sure whether there's really an increase... It's pervasive, though, and quite depressing. I'm no longer surprised when I see someone utterly incapable of even a simple rational thought process, but it does still depress me.

You're right about "reactionary knee jerk"; I suppose many people are either too lazy to think, are frightened of developing their own thoughts, or are quite simply incapable of it, and take comfort in "consensual", knee-jerk, ready-made opinions.

You're not alone. I think the solution here is to simply remove all safety or warning labels and let the gene pool cleanse itself :D

Take this, I'm sitting up stairs at work, having a smoko as one does,

Yup, I seem to see them, too.

Yup, I seem to see them, too.

Question: Do you even know what a smoko is? it is New Zealand vernacular for a coffee break, not an actual smoke

Question: Do you even know what a smoko is? its New Zealand vernacular for a coffee break, not an actual smoke

I googled it and got back mostly references to smoke breaks. Primarily on US sites, though.

Take this, I'm sitting up stairs at work, having a smoko as one does, and dear lord, the verbal diarrhoea is almost ass paralysingly painful - dear god, its as though the only thing in these peoples lives is either whats in the local Womens Weekly or who had slap 'n tickle with some person on their favourite reality television programme.

Anyway, am I the only one here noticing the world becoming more stupid by the day? the inability for people to atleast form a coherient conversation that actually goes beyond the realms of popular culture?
no, people aren't getting more stupid because these sorts of people have been about for ever... i unfortunatley live in an area populated almost exclusively by these sorts of 'OK' and 'Hello' reading thickies... except for this particular neighbourhood (next to the park) which is mostly home to people who work at the hospital or uni professors... oh the dichotemy :p
point is, they've been around for at least the last 10 years since i've been living here, and i should think they've been around before that too ;)


anyway, i blame mags like these for turning people's minds to mush and telling them what they think about "everything" (which actually consists of little more than nonsense celebrity and pop culture...)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0001ZWGCO.03._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

http://www.121bid.co.uk/uploads/1010100571_1.jpg

Yup, I seem to see them, too.

Geez... you always this much of a laugh, Fass? :p

Elgesh']Geez... you always this much of a laugh, Fass? :p

A veritable hoot.

I see stupid people everywhere.Dunno. I see dead people. Does that count?

I'm not sure whether there's really an increase... It's pervasive, though, and quite depressing. I'm no longer surprised when I see someone utterly incapable of even a simple rational thought process, but it does still depress me.

You're right about "reactionary knee jerk"; I suppose many people are either too lazy to think, are frightened of developing their own thoughts, or are quite simply incapable of it, and take comfort in "consensual", knee-jerk, ready-made opinions.

Thank goodness I'm not the only one; a couple of days ago, I had to ban a person from my AIM list because he insisted to go on and on and on with his religious rants, no matter how many times I told him I wasn't interested in his diatribe - I tried to reason with him, but he was more concerned about ranting the perceived 'word of god' than trying to logically go through what he claims as 'absolute truths'.

Its even sadder when you see politicians get up and make bold faced lies; like Peter Constello in Australia, Liberals Finance Minister claiming that under Mark Lathem 'interest rates would go up to double digits' and that some how, he claimed in an interview that if the surplus was kept at 2.5billion dollars, some how, through some voodoo magic, interest rates wont go up?! fuck, I'd love to know that logic, because currently right now New Zealand government is sitting on a large budget surplus and interest rates need to go up...or shock horror, could it be that things like inflation are more complicated than just the surplus/deficit in the government budget?! say it ain't so!

I googled it and got back mostly references to smoke breaks. Primarily on US sites, though.

Thank you for prooving my point about idiots, in google I put smoko NZ slang and at the top of the list

http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~sarah/content/slang.html

There you have it.

Well, to coin a phrase; I see stupid people everywhere.

Maybe I'm elitist, but has anyone here notice the rapid increase in the number of *really* stupid people?

Take this, I'm sitting up stairs at work, having a smoko as one does, and dear lord, the verbal diarrhoea is almost ass paralysingly painful - dear god, its as though the only thing in these peoples lives is either whats in the local Womens Weekly or who had slap 'n tickle with some person on their favourite reality television programme.

Now, thats ok, its only 15 minutes I have to put up with that crap for, so off I go back to work - all good.

I finish work, I come back home, throw on dinner, and flick on the switch of my laptop and head off to my favourite IT sites to get the latest information - and god almighty, the thickness of IT people to the realities is amazing - the assumption that because they can put up with the half-asssed replacements provided by the OSS developers on sourceforge, that somehowever, everyone should jump off Photoshop and head off to GIMP - which as a side issue is a fucking usability nightmare and just plain horrific to look at - I get the same reaction when I see a naked woman.

Anyway, am I the only one here noticing the world becoming more stupid by the day? the inability for people to atleast form a coherient conversation that actually goes beyond the realms of popular culture? they can actually form and opinion which actually is based on an ounce of reason rather than some pathetic reactionary knee jerk reaction to an issue.

Relax. Have a taco. :)

Thank you for prooving my point about idiots, in google I put smoko NZ slang and at the top of the list

http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~sarah/content/slang.html

There you have it.

Gee, imagine that. If you add "nz slang" to the search, because you know somehow know that it is the NZ slang meaning of the word you're looking for, then you'll get pages that give you the NZ slang meaning of it.

No shit!

Now, try "smoko" just on its own, like anyone who is not privy to it being NZ slang - basically everyone who doesn't know what it means and thus needs to google it in the first place. :rolleyes:

Relax. Have a taco. :)

Na, I went above that and had a nip of Baileys Irish Cream along with a small cake of chocolate :)

Gee, imagine that. If you add "nz slang" to the search, because you know somehow know that it is the NZ slang meaning of the word you're looking for, then you'll get pages that give you the NZ slang meaning of it.

No shit!

Now, try "smoko" just on its own, like anyone who is not privy to it being NZ slang - basically everyone who doesn't know what it means and thus needs to google it in the first place. :rolleyes:

I am a New Zealander
I've made it public of MANY occasions that I'm a New Zealander
I've also stated that I live IN New Zealand

So, with those facts into account, wouldn't it be correct in assuming that I would be using, *SHOCK* New Zealand slang?

Na, I went above that and had a nip of Baileys Irish Cream along with a small cake of chocolate :)

Whatever makes you happy. :)

Gee, imagine that. If you add "nz slang" to the search, because you know somehow know that it is the NZ slang meaning of the word you're looking for, then you'll get pages that give you the NZ slang meaning of it.

No shit!

Now, try "smoko" just on its own, like anyone who is not privy to it being NZ slang - basically everyone who doesn't know what it means and thus needs to google it in the first place. :rolleyes:

Easy now people - that includes you Lovely Boys - we're all friends here, this kind of acrimony won't solve our differences :D

Whatever makes you happy. :)

A good hard fuck and a cherry would have been better, but beggers can't be choosers.

Easy now people - that includes you Lovely Boys - we're all friends here, this kind of acrimony won't solve our differences :D

Well, lets all head over to my place and have a nice gay orgy to make up :)

I am a New Zealander
I've made it public of MANY occasions that I'm a New Zealander
I've also stated that I live IN New Zealand

So, with those facts into account, wouldn't it be correct in assuming that I would be using, *SHOCK* New Zealand slang?

Slap your location into your profile thingy, it'll solve a lot of problems.

Incidentally, whereabouts in New Zealand?

You're not alone. I think the solution here is to simply remove all safety or warning labels and let the gene pool cleanse itself :D
I like it.

A good hard fuck and a cherry would have been better, but beggers can't be choosers.
Now, when you say 'cherry' in this context...??

Well, lets all head over to my place and have a nice gay orgy to make up :)

Hehe - whatever floats your boat :D Although to be fair I'd take any excuse to go back to NZ

I like it

Let's get right on it then :D

I am a New Zealander
I've made it public of MANY occasions that I'm a New Zealander
I've also stated that I live IN New Zealand

So, with those facts into account, wouldn't it be correct in assuming that I would be using, *SHOCK* New Zealand slang?
No offense, if you want people to know where you're from, stick it on your profile so it appears next to your name. Otherwise no one is going to bother remembering 'so and so is from so and so'. Frankly I don't know you, probably haven't read of your posts that I've put to memory and would thusly assume you're from some where that has internet access. So by playing the odds you're probably American. Else wise stick it on your profile if you really want people to know.

aha, you just have as I wrote this post.

Slap your location into your profile thingy, it'll solve a lot of problems.

Incidentally, whereabouts in New Zealand?

Dear god; another case in point.

We're off the east coast of Australia, more correctly, almost parallel with Tasmania.

Elgesh']Now, when you say 'cherry' in this context...??

I'll let you take it as you want, either Cherry's with cream, but the other cherry isn't possible, thats unless you have a cherry popper repair kit handy? :P

No offense, if you want people to know where you're from, stick it on your profile so it appears next to your name. Otherwise no one is going to bother remembering 'so and so is from so and so'. Frankly I don't know you, probably haven't read of your posts that I've put to memory and would thusly assume you're from some where that has internet access. So by playing the odds you're probably American. Else wise stick it on your profile if you really want people to know.

aha, you just have as I wrote this post.

Hello? How many times must a man say they're a 'mo from New Zealand for someone to FINALLY get the idea that, SHOCK HORROR! the person just might be from New Zealand :eek:

I am a New Zealander
I've made it public of MANY occasions that I'm a New Zealander
I've also stated that I live IN New Zealand

And I'll remember not to remember it again. You honestly think people are gonna remember where anyone comes from here, especially someone who has less than a 1000 posts?

Not to rag on your post count - I'm really not out to do that - but those "many" occasions can't have been that many with such a low one. I can hardly be arsed to remember where people with 5000+ posts come from (I still keep forgetting on times that Pure Metal is British, or that Sdaeriji is from Massachusetts), and so you'll understand my unwillingness to even attempt to care about such from those with less.

So, with those facts into account, wouldn't it be correct in assuming that I would be using, *SHOCK* New Zealand slang?

No, you would not, as again, people really don't care enough about this place to remember where so and so is from.

Dear god; another case in point.

We're off the east coast of Australia, more correctly, almost parallel with Tasmania.

They said 'in' not 'is'....





Although most of the forum regulars know, I still don't assume people know where I'm from..

And I'll remember not to remember it again. You honestly think people are gonna remember where anyone comes from here, especially someone who has less than a 1000 posts?

Not to rag on your post count - I'm really not out to do that - but those "many" occasions can't have been that many with such a low one. I can hardly be arsed to remember where people with 5000+ posts come from (I still keep forgetting on times that Pure Metal is British, or that Sdaeriji is from Massachusetts), and so you'll understand my unwillingness to even attempt to care about such from those with less.



No, you would not, as again, people really don't care enough about this place to remember where so and so is from.

You are correct, having had a look at my post total, a measily 410, I can see that not all would have seen my posts :)

Perhaps you are an elitist. Or, perhaps (and this is what I suspect) is that you are like most other stupid people, myself included, that can pick fault in others but not in yourself. Take for instance, the ability to proof read ones own work when publishing in a forum. The spelling and grammar mistakes could be picked up by a 7 year old.

"Anyway, am I the only one here noticing the world becoming more stupid by the day? the inability for people to atleast form a coherient conversation that actually goes beyond the realms of popular culture? they can actually form and opinion which actually is based on an ounce of reason rather than some pathetic reactionary knee jerk reaction to an issue."

This paragraph here for instance, has spelling and grammar mistakes. To you, this could be the lack of time to care about these seemingly insignificant misconducts of the English language. To me it is a signifier of stupidity.

Perhaps we arent as clever as we think.

You're not alone. I think the solution here is to simply remove all safety or warning labels and let the gene pool cleanse itself :D
Hehehe... I like that solution :D
The US would be totally swamped with lawsuits in no time though :rolleyes:

Perhaps you are an elitist. Or, perhaps (and this is what I suspect) is that you are like most other stupid people, myself included, that can pick fault in others but not in yourself. Take comma for instance, the ability to proof read ones own work when publishing in a forum. The spelling and grammar mistakes could be picked up by a 7 year old.

~~snip~~

This paragraph here comma for instance, has spelling and grammar mistakes. To you, this could be the lack of time to care about these seemingly insignificant misconducts of the English language. To me comma it is a signifier of stupidity.

Perhaps we arenapostrophet as clever as we think.

**nod**;)

Dear god; another case in point.

We're off the east coast of Australia, more correctly, almost parallel with Tasmania.


Dude, I said 'in' not 'is' as in 'which particular part of NZ are you in'. I am aware of where the country itself is :p having been there and all, and having relatives there... the list goes on. Anyway, come on, who doesn't at least roughly where it is? And I realise I say that in a thread dedicated to stupid people :D

Hehehe... I like that solution :D
The US would be totally swamped with lawsuits in no time though :rolleyes:

EGAD! The system of frivolous civil lawsuits would grind to a halt and collapse in a cloud of utter chaos?!? :eek: How horrific...ally Awesome!!! :D

Hehehe... I like that solution :D
The US would be totally swamped with lawsuits in no time though :rolleyes:

Nah it wouldn't - all the idiots stupid enough to sue over these sorts of tings would've killed thmselves in unlikely accidents involving anteaters and high voltage electric fences long before they made it to the court room. Or perhaps even on the way to the court room.

Thank you for prooving my point about idiots, in google I put smoko NZ slang and at the top of the list

http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~sarah/content/slang.html

There you have it.
A bit harsh, no?

Speaking of intelligence, did you know that being adaptable is a good indicator? For example, if one were contributng to an online forum with participitants from around the globe, a good sign of adapting would be to not use ones own local dialect, and, rather, choose a more appropriate vocabulary, free of regionalisms, in order to facilitate communication and reduce the possibility misunderstandings. But I imagine you knew that...

I think the problem is that maybe we are all highly intelligent, because other than my family and the people on here (not all of you btw) I only really know about 6 people that I would consider "not stupid" :(

I probably am an elitist though. I keep ending up watching these toddlers and think "my goodness that kid is dumb" and then I feel bad and try to remember that my 4 year old has an 11 year old vocabulary so she shouldn't be my comparison for other 4 year olds, but then I sit down and actually talk to thier parents and I am like "my goodness, that person is stupid" I feel so bad, but come on.

Maybe it's where I live, we are almost last in the nation in literacy, and our schools suck big time. (I have already talked about the geometry teacher that didn't understand theorems, and the US History teacher that thought that the USA had 52 states, and that Texas belonged to Mexico)

I deal with people's stupidity every single day, and the fact that my girls have Celiac disease makes it worse.

"Can I give your little girl a cookie?"
"no, she can't have anything made with flour, so no pasta, or cookies, or muffins, or any of that."
" so, can she have cupcakes?"
"no, because they are made with flour, basically she can't have any grains, or baked goods, or breaded meat, or anything pre-made because it could contain grains"
"so she can have a sugar cookie right?"
" no, because it has flour, she can't have any grains, like wheat, rye, barley, or oats"
"what about oatmeal cookies? They don't have flour."
" she can't have oats"
" what about whole wheat bread? That's healthy right?"
"not for her, she can't have wheat"
"oh.........how about a saltine cracker?"
"no, it has flour, she can't have pasta, bread, cookies, muffins, crackers, canned soup, poptarts, cereal, oatmeal, lunch meat, smoked ham, granola, hotdogs, corndogs, hamburgers, french fries, malts, or anything else that has flour in it!!!!!!!"
"oh, can she have a graham cracker?"
"NO!!!!!!!!"

Okay now I am annoyed all over again...................:headbang:

I think the problem is that maybe we are all highly intelligent, because other than my family and the people on here (not all of you btw) I only really know about 6 people that I would consider "not stupid" :(

I probably am an elitist though. I keep ending up watching these toddlers and think "my goodness that kid is dumb" and then I feel bad and try to remember that my 4 year old has an 11 year old vocabulary so she shouldn't be my comparison for other 4 year olds, but then I sit down and actually talk to thier parents and I am like "my goodness, that person is stupid" I feel so bad, but come on.

Maybe it's where I live, we are almost last in the nation in literacy, and our schools suck big time. (I have already talked about the geometry teacher that didn't understand theorems, and the US History teacher that thought that the USA had 52 states, and that Texas belonged to Mexico)

I deal with people's stupidity every single day, and the fact that my girls have Celiac disease makes it worse.

"Can I give your little girl a cookie?"
"no, she can't have anything made with flour, so no pasta, or cookies, or muffins, or any of that."
" so, can she have cupcakes?"
"no, because they are made with flour, basically she can't have any grains, or baked goods, or breaded meat, or anything pre-made because it could contain grains"
"so she can have a sugar cookie right?"
" no, because it has flour, she can't have any grains, like wheat, rye, barley, or oats"
"what about oatmeal cookies? They don't have flour."
" she can't have oats"
" what about whole wheat bread? That's healthy right?"
"not for her, she can't have wheat"
"oh.........how about a saltine cracker?"
"no, it has flour, she can't have pasta, bread, cookies, muffins, crackers, canned soup, poptarts, cereal, oatmeal, lunch meat, smoked ham, granola, hotdogs, corndogs, hamburgers, french fries, malts, or anything else that has flour in it!!!!!!!"
"oh, can she have a graham cracker?"
"NO!!!!!!!!"

Okay now I am annoyed all over again...................:headbang:

You should join my safety labels removal campaign. We already have several members, and I assure people like the one above would be the first to go.

Incidentally, safety labels don't include food contents labels, so your kids are safe from me :)

Although having said that, putting 'this product may contain nuts' on a packet of peanuts is going too far.

Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can't help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.
-Robert Anson Heinlein

Maybe I'm elitist, but has anyone here notice the rapid increase in the number of *really* stupid people?

Anyway, am I the only one here noticing the world becoming more stupid by the day? the inability for people to atleast form a coherient conversation that actually goes beyond the realms of popular culture? they can actually form and opinion which actually is based on an ounce of reason rather than some pathetic reactionary knee jerk reaction to an issue.

Not stupid people but people who just don't care about anything other than what you can watch on E!. It's very simmilar to the lack of caring people had at the end of the Roman Empire...

A good hard fuck and a cherry would have been better, but beggers can't be choosers.

Forgive me, but shouldn't that be "buggerers" can't be choosers? :D

Dear god; another case in point.

We're off the east coast of Australia, more correctly, almost parallel with Tasmania.

HEY! Don't blame YOUR inability to EFFING READ on the person asking the question. THe question was where IN -- IN!!! -- New Zealand, not IS.

If you're going to be an asshole, that's fine, but don't direct your weak-kneed criticism at someone until you KNOW they deserve it.

Anyway, am I the only one here noticing the world becoming more stupid by the day? the inability for people to atleast form a coherient conversation that actually goes beyond the realms of popular culture? they can actually form and opinion which actually is based on an ounce of reason rather than some pathetic reactionary knee jerk reaction to an issue.
I hate to be the one to spoil all your childhood illusions, but it's always been this way. Back when people had to work at hard manual labor to earn a living, they were too tired and too preoccupied with survival to even consider something as esoteric as "popular culture." People have to fill their time with something and "popular culture" seems to fill the role that gossip and sleep filled in simpler times.

Not stupid people but people who just don't care about anything other than what you can watch on E!. It's very simmilar to the lack of caring people had at the end of the Roman Empire...
Oh? Your proof for this? Or perhaps you were there? :eek:

I think the problem is that maybe we are all highly intelligent, because other than my family and the people on here (not all of you btw) I only really know about 6 people that I would consider "not stupid" :(

I probably am an elitist though. I keep ending up watching these toddlers and think "my goodness that kid is dumb" and then I feel bad and try to remember that my 4 year old has an 11 year old vocabulary so she shouldn't be my comparison for other 4 year olds, but then I sit down and actually talk to thier parents and I am like "my goodness, that person is stupid" I feel so bad, but come on.

Maybe it's where I live, we are almost last in the nation in literacy, and our schools suck big time. (I have already talked about the geometry teacher that didn't understand theorems, and the US History teacher that thought that the USA had 52 states, and that Texas belonged to Mexico)

I deal with people's stupidity every single day, and the fact that my girls have Celiac disease makes it worse.

"Can I give your little girl a cookie?"
"no, she can't have anything made with flour, so no pasta, or cookies, or muffins, or any of that."
" so, can she have cupcakes?"
"no, because they are made with flour, basically she can't have any grains, or baked goods, or breaded meat, or anything pre-made because it could contain grains"
"so she can have a sugar cookie right?"
" no, because it has flour, she can't have any grains, like wheat, rye, barley, or oats"
"what about oatmeal cookies? They don't have flour."
" she can't have oats"
" what about whole wheat bread? That's healthy right?"
"not for her, she can't have wheat"
"oh.........how about a saltine cracker?"
"no, it has flour, she can't have pasta, bread, cookies, muffins, crackers, canned soup, poptarts, cereal, oatmeal, lunch meat, smoked ham, granola, hotdogs, corndogs, hamburgers, french fries, malts, or anything else that has flour in it!!!!!!!"
"oh, can she have a graham cracker?"
"NO!!!!!!!!"

Okay now I am annoyed all over again...................:headbang:

Wow. In which US state was that conversation held?

Wow. In which US state was that conversation held?
Um ... any of several "Blue" states? :D

no, people aren't getting more stupid because these sorts of people have been about for ever... i unfortunatley live in an area populated almost exclusively by these sorts of 'OK' and 'Hello' reading thickies... except for this particular neighbourhood (next to the park) which is mostly home to people who work at the hospital or uni professors... oh the dichotemy
It would help your credibiliy a bit if you spelled "dichotomy" correctly. :rolleyes:

Um ... any of several "Blue" states? :D
To quote Penn & Teller: Bullshit.

I have to agree with the person in the other thread. You suffer from some sort of fetish involving insulting and provoking people with different political beliefs.

There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.

Ignorance is a fairly natural state and is easily fixed through information, explanation, motivation and/or curiosity.

When you add apathy to ignorance, you get stupidity. That is, people who are ignorant, know they are ignorant, and make a conscious choice to not care. In fact, they often revel in their ignorance and persecute those who choose to learn. This attitude is evident in any Western secondary school (high schools and the like)...for all I know, it may be de rigeur in Eastern schools, too.

Example from my own past:

In my high school geography class, someone asked the teacher "why do we need to know where all the oceans are?" Asked in such a tone as to convey a complete disdain at her perceived uselessness of such knowledge. Inwardly, I daydreamt a scenario wherein she was the only person able to talk on the the radio on a sinking ship. However, at that time, I also hoped she'd drown, thereby improving the gene pool through passive eugenics.

As I got older, I realized that valuing curiosity wasn't something for which I could hold students accountable. As I'm now a professor, it's imperative that I eliminate such prejudices against ignorance+apathy in my own instructional presence, lest I be seen as no better than the jocks who persecuted me for being curious.

I hope this helps.

NdL

It would help your credibiliy a bit if you spelled "dichotomy" correctly. :rolleyes:

Or "neighborhood" for that matter (crazy English).

Um ... any of several "Blue" states? :D

I won't bug you with the facts about school funding, test scores, dropout rates and the like in blue vs. red states. I know you were joking, so there's no reason to turn it into an issue. I don't think you're a deliberate agitator, Eut. I think you're just like any Liberal in that your Conservative views prompt you to call bullshit, even passively, wherever you've been conditioned through experience to see it. Just like me. Only we're on opposite sides of the fence. So if we can admit that it's a matter of our respective conditioning, then there's no reason to get all agitated.

'Nuff said.

You should join my safety labels removal campaign. We already have several members, and I assure people like the one above would be the first to go.
I would love to join, do you know it says on my hair dryer "do not use this product in the shower" and it says on my daughter's skates "do not use these skates in traffic or on the highway" and on her cabbage patches rubber ducky "this is not a lifesaving device" :rolleyes:


Although having said that, putting 'this product may contain nuts' on a packet of peanuts is going too far.
actually peanuts are not nuts they are legumes, but anyway, the peanut allergie activists have an easier time with the food labeling than us Celiac folk do, they have better publicity (we are working on it) and they have 1 thing that causes a problem (peanuts) while with Celiac disease there are over 300 ingredients alone that contain gluten (ingredients, not foods, there are many more foods) and there are about 600 that may or may not contain gluten depending on the country of origin and company/supplier practices.

and then we have the FDA who is trying to change the definition of "Gluten Free" to mean "only a little gluten" when it only takes a crumb, a microscopic amount to cause severe damage to my kids. :mad:

sorry for the rant. ;)

Wow. In which US state was that conversation held?
Oklahoma :( I lived in Arizona for 2 years, it was so nice, people were only stupid about 25% of the time, and then I found out those people weren't really from Arizona :p

I will move back to Tucson if I ever get a chance.

Anyway, am I the only one here noticing the world becoming more stupid by the day? the inability for people to atleast form a coherient conversation that actually goes beyond the realms of popular culture? they can actually form and opinion which actually is based on an ounce of reason rather than some pathetic reactionary knee jerk reaction to an issue.


You just hit on why it took humans so damn long to get to this point.

Well, to coin a phrase; I see stupid people everywhere.


I'm glad you can.

Please remember there are people who are blind or visually impared and cannot see any of the stupid (or dead) people around.

That is all.

Thank you.

(Note for the humor impared: Yes, this was intended to be sarcasitic.)

I have to agree with the person in the other thread. You suffer from some sort of fetish involving insulting and provoking people with different political beliefs.
Or maybe he just has a fetish involving insulting and provoking people, and Democrats just rise to the bait more often? I didn't notice you commenting on the person who made the comments about "which US state", which was a comment of the exact same type.

Anyway, this thread is so briliant because of all the nitpickery and bastardism that it brings out in people. "You misspeeled 'dichotomy', ROFL" Who really gives a flying fuck?

(There were at least three errors in the above post, find them all and win a kewl prize)

Or maybe he just has a fetish involving insulting and provoking people, and Democrats just rise to the bait more often? I didn't notice you commenting on the person who made the comments about "which US state", which was a comment of the exact same type.

Anyway, this thread is so briliant because of all the nitpickery and bastardism that it brings out in people. "You misspeeled 'dichotomy', ROFL" Who really gives a flying fuck?

(There were at least three errors in the above post, find them all and win a kewl prize)

hmm one is Sarcasitic.

Well, to coin a phrase; I see stupid people everywhere.

Maybe I'm elitist, but has anyone here notice the rapid increase in the number of *really* stupid people?

This is how I see it: Humans are smart, but humanity is dumb. When put in the right conditions, humans can unlock boundless potential (examples include vaccines, the airplane, space shuttles etc), but humanity tells us what it is that we can use that potential for. And what is it they tell us to do with it? Nothing. Abso-fucking-lutely nothing, because people who go through all the trouble of thinking for themselves might realize "Hey, I'm reading a magazine full of random bullshit that makes me want to buy their products." And then they dont buy the magazines products, and the magazines are come face to face with the reality that 9 times out of 10 people dont actually need their beauty cream, or new car, or whatever it is.

Well, to coin a phrase; I see stupid people everywhere.

Maybe I'm elitist, but has anyone here notice the rapid increase in the number of *really* stupid people?

This is how I see it: Humans are smart, but humanity is dumb. When put in the right conditions, humans can unlock boundless potential (examples include vaccines, the airplane, space shuttles etc), but humanity tells us what it is that we can use that potential for. And what is it they tell us to do with it? Nothing. Abso-fucking-lutely nothing, because people who go through all the trouble of thinking for themselves might realize, "Hey, I'm reading a magazine full of random bullshit that makes me want to buy their products." And then they dont buy the magazines products, and the magazines are come face to face with the reality that 9 times out of 10 people dont actually need their beauty cream, or new car, or whatever it is.

This is how I see it: Humans are smart, but humanity is dumb. When put in the right conditions, humans can unlock boundless potential (examples include vaccines, the airplane, space shuttles etc), but humanity tells us what it is that we can use that potential for. And what is it they tell us to do with it? Nothing. Abso-fucking-lutely nothing, because people who go through all the trouble of thinking for themselves might realize, "Hey, I'm reading a magazine full of random bullshit that makes me want to buy their products." And then they dont buy the magazines products, and the magazines are come face to face with the reality that 9 times out of 10 people dont actually need their beauty cream, or new car, or whatever it is.

Well said, both of your post's :p

Forgive me, but shouldn't that be "buggerers" can't be choosers? :D

Yeah, but then again, I'm normally the buggeree :P

I hate to be the one to spoil all your childhood illusions, but it's always been this way. Back when people had to work at hard manual labor to earn a living, they were too tired and too preoccupied with survival to even consider something as esoteric as "popular culture." People have to fill their time with something and "popular culture" seems to fill the role that gossip and sleep filled in simpler times.

I find it laughable that so many of these 'tired people' today can flick on a television and vegetate infront of it each night and the whole weekend when all they really need to do is head off to their local public library and borrow a few books, and thus, expand their horizons beyond what their local celleb is doing.

If you're smart, have developed thoughts, and oppinions, you are a nerd/outsider.

If you do not think, and needs everything pointed out for you, you be strong! You be popular! UGH!


This is the main problem of the world.

Evil will always triumph over Good, because Good is dumb.

This is how I see it: Humans are smart, but humanity is dumb. When put in the right conditions, humans can unlock boundless potential (examples include vaccines, the airplane, space shuttles etc), but humanity tells us what it is that we can use that potential for. And what is it they tell us to do with it? Nothing. Abso-fucking-lutely nothing, because people who go through all the trouble of thinking for themselves might realize "Hey, I'm reading a magazine full of random bullshit that makes me want to buy their products." And then they dont buy the magazines products, and the magazines are come face to face with the reality that 9 times out of 10 people dont actually need their beauty cream, or new car, or whatever it is.

Well, the real problem is this, the anti-academic mind set that is spread by popular culture, that someone being ignorant and stupid are virtues that are worth holding onto, as if they're some sort of an achivement.

Just look at Paris Hilton and Nichole Richie - I think the South Park episode put it best - "Stupid Spolt Whore" - as if the idea of being spoilt, whorish and stupid are virtues that we should all try to aspire to.

And to think that a thousand or so years ago, those who were seen as physically elite and academically smart were see as people one tried to aspire to, and yet today, we have this malaise in society to simply put up with the mediocrity that has come to take a hold on society.

Evil will always triumph over Good, because Good is dumb.

Well, the real problem is this, the anti-academic mind set that is spread by popular culture, that someone being ignorant and stupid are virtues that are worth holding onto, as if they're some sort of an achivement.

Just look at Paris Hilton and Nichole Richie - I think the South Park episode put it best - "Stupid Spolt Whore" - as if the idea of being spoilt, whorish and stupid are virtues that we should all try to aspire to.

And to think that a thousand or so years ago, those who were seen as physically elite and academically smart were see as people one tried to aspire to, and yet today, we have this malaise in society to simply put up with the mediocrity that has come to take a hold on society.

All too true, except that you don't have to go back thousands of years, you only have to go back a few decades to see that hard work and achievement was praised.

All too true, except that you don't have to go back thousands of years, you only have to go back a few decades to see that hard work and achievement was praised.

True, very true; just a few decades ago, it wasn't so difficult to find a rugby player who also valued the idea of getting an education - as he realised that his rugby playing career wouldn't last forever.

The sad part about this? we have both sides of the political spectrum right off base as the cause of this; the right claiming that 'there aren't enough family values" aka 'homo bashing' and we have the left claim that 'children aren't encouraged enough' - I say the cause of it, and the cause of almost every problem in society is a lack of personal responsibility and self reliance.

Evil will always triumph over Good, because Good is dumb.

I think it's the other way around, evil triumphs over good because evil is dumb. Most of the good that resides within this world is the result of hard-work and reason, most of the evil originates from apathy, egoism, laziness and stupidity.

Anyway, am I the only one here noticing the world becoming more stupid by the day?

I am suprised that someone from NZ has not heard of the Flynn effect.

In any case, a countryman of yours has noticed the exact opposite thing.

I am suprised that someone from NZ has not heard of the Flynn effect.

In any case, a countryman of yours has noticed the exact opposite thing.

Thats rather optimistic; just look at the latest election and the basic idea espoused by lefties and righties that us singles, homos and so forth should subsidise the breeeding programme of the straight people - don't mind me, I'm just off to vomit.

Which goes right back to personal responsibility and self reliance, and there lack of it in New Zealand.

Take this, I'm sitting up stairs at work, having a smoko as one does, and dear lord, the verbal diarrhoea is almost ass paralysingly painful - dear god, its as though the only thing in these peoples lives is either whats in the local Womens Weekly or who had slap 'n tickle with some person on their favourite reality television programme.
:D

Agreed. But, there are inteligent peolpe out there somewhere.

:D

Agreed. But, there are inteligent peolpe out there somewhere.

True, I've found one, my boyfriend - too bad there aren't a whole lot of people out there like him.

it's all so pavlonian when you think about it

You see stupid people?

Ha Ha Ha! Try living in China! I see 1.4 billion of them every single day!

And I really do mean stupid, not a little bit slow or somewhat absent of cerebral activity. We're not talking about a light that's a little bit blunt, or a bulb that's somewhat dim.

I'm talking 1 word, 3 syllables, and that word is retarded.

Any doubters, please get in touch so I can give you the guided tour to the shethole I'm currently living in...

While it's hard to say whether it's getting worse or not, one thing is sure: There won't be any significant improvement unless it is forced upon humanity. Most people consciously act like morons, and stubbornly refuse to think rationally. They have left logic in favor of popularity and ability to socialize with morons like themselves. They instead focus on throwing away their individuality in order not to be shunned by the other morons, embracing whatever ideas and opinions are concidered "normal" and popular, and forcefully rejecting everyone and everything else.

Sadly, everyone has atleast a bit of these characteristics, and of things beyond what I have described. (I could write a lot more about it, but I don't have time now. maybe I will start a separate thread about this later...) I am aware that I, too, have my share of this stupidity. However, unlike most people, I do not strive to maintain it, but rather to destroy it, piece by piece. I have come a relatively long way so far, altought I likely won't be able to get rid of it all within my lifetime. Still, I will likely be able to get very close.

As for how the situation can be improved, these are the best ways I have came up with so far: 1. Eradicate humanity. This would by far be the easiest solution, and be guaranteed to succeed. A method that would presently be possible would be to design and then let loose a virus deadly enough all across the world at once. 2. Subject any and all irrational people to treatment to correct their flaws. The ones that are hopeless cases could either, depending on their usefulness, be brainwashed into mindless slaves, or killed. In order to do this, society in it's current forms would have to be crushed, globally; it would likely be neccessary to start by achieving world domination and crushing all resistance. The latter could possibly be done by exposing all of humanity except a select few to drugs that give the desired effects until they can be treated.