NationStates Jolt Archive

A couple of General Forum threads and recent newspaper articles have got me thinking: "have we stepped in the way of evolution?". We label our peanut butter "Caution: Contains nuts", we label kettles "Caution: Hot" and recently the Gold Coast City Council went as far as to considering warning signs about warning signs.

But, are all our good intentions in vein. Think about this; a few hundred years ago if you were too stupid to avoid to realise a dangerous animal might eat you if you're acting like a fool, you died. That was it, your stupidity was removed from the gene pool. Now these people are living to breed with other idiots and create a new race of super-idiots, fueling the success of shows such as America's Funniest Home Videos.

Now I'm not advocating mandatory IQ test and sterilising everyone with an IQ bellow 95 (or am i...no, no I'm not...not right now anyway), but I am saying that if someone lights their own fart on fire, don't call an ambulance. Just let nature take it's course. It's the humane thing to do, they'll just end up catching their foreskin in their fly tomorrow...

Poll coming, why not...

I'm sure an over whelming majority of the world would be sterilized and/or removed from the face of the earth. We need stupid people, especially women, to breed with us ugly nerdy people.

PS. I make no apologies for misspellings in the poll. I hope it causes intense cerebral pain

I say just ban the lawsuits.

I'm sure an over whelming majority of the world would be sterilized and/or removed from the face of the earth. We need stupid people, especially women, to breed with us ugly nerdy people.

In my experience stupid women tend to be more attracted to stupid men.
Unfourtunatly, the majority of women that I've ever met have been stupid...but then again, so have the majority of the men that I've met as well.

My brother served in the United States Army. He returned with a standard issue field jacket. The jacket was prominently labelled, "Wear jacket in cold weather in order to keep warm."

I felt that this was evidence that we, as a species, are doomed.

My brother served in the United States Army. He returned with a standard issue field jacket. The jacket was prominently labelled, "Wear jacket in cold weather in order to keep warm."

I felt that this was evidence that we, as a species, are doomed.

You could build a shed on the beach, with the walls inside out.
Cookie for the (easy) reference.

Evolution is not teleological, there is no purpose direction to evolution, or in other words "lower" animals don't automatically evolve into "higher" animals. Intelligence has not shown that it is has major evolutionary adavantages in the long run. Rats and cockroaches are much more likely to survive in harsh conditions if major climate change occurs. The brain has high costs in terms of calorie consumtion and the need to get rid of waste heat so the brain doesn't boil. Who knows, intelligent civilizations might eventually create WMDs that are so cheap to produce that one asshole can kill everyone.

Smooth Move with the poll.

What too choose...

Might aswell kiss your ass.

I have yet to see comedically idiot-proof warning labels here in Europe. Can someone offer an example? Otherwise, well, draw your conclusions (although I think it may be explained more by Litigiousness than Stupidity, but hell).

My brother served in the United States Army. He returned with a standard issue field jacket. The jacket was prominently labelled, "Wear jacket in cold weather in order to keep warm."

I felt that this was evidence that we, as a species, are doomed.

The majority of 'warning' signs and labels seem to come from lawsuits, or are measures to prevent lawsuits...Im at a loss to explain that one though.

Im at a loss to explain that one though.

This is the military. :P

Ermarian;13016164']This is the military. :P

Yes, but they have yet to put up signs saying 'loud shells pointy end first' or 'do not strike fuse with a blunt object'...I mean, they TEND to limit their stupid warnings and insturctions to the manuals >_>

You could build a shed on the beach, with the walls inside out.
Cookie for the (easy) reference.

Battletoads

There have actually been a few studies that show the average IQ of the world has declined significantly since the beginning of the 19th century. Obviously great strides in nutrition has allowed for the potential to be much higher, but the actual population as a whole has been in decline.

If you want to know where we will be in a few hundred years, watch this movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

We need stupid people, especially women, to breed with us ugly nerdy people.
You fuckin' liar.
Stop disenfranchising me! :p

If you want to know where we will be in a few hundred years, watch this movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

Welcome to CostCo ... I love you.

There have actually been a few studies that show the average IQ of the world has declined significantly since the beginning of the 19th century. Obviously great strides in nutrition has allowed for the potential to be much higher, but the actual population as a whole has been in decline.
Average IQ remains the same as it is averaged to the population :P

On topic, I'd rather have kind hearted idiots than cold hearted intellectuals.

On topic, I'd rather have kind hearted idiots than cold hearted intellectuals.

Damn.

Might as well just paint a big ol' bullseye on your chest there, partner ... as far as NS goes, at least.

Yes, but they have yet to put up signs saying 'loud shells pointy end first'

Or label mines with "this side toward enemy". ;)

Battletoads

Mr. Adams just achieved 180 rotations per minute.

There have actually been a few studies that show the average IQ of the world has declined significantly since the beginning of the 19th century.

The term Intelligence Quotient was invented in 1912. The first modern intelligence test was the Binet-Simon scale, published in 1905.

To find such a trend, a test would have needed to be used prior to the beginning of the 19th century. Even if any tests (which would not have been called "IQ") existed in the late 1700s - ie before the 19th century -, none of them would have been used continually over more than two hundred years. This pretty much precludes a trend of the kind you are claiming.

I am struggling to find words to describe how much bull waste your post contains. But I suppose I should have been warned by the time you started out with "a few studies" without a link. :rolleyes:

"have we stepped in the way of evolution?"
Where we have stepped "in the way" is in developing lifestyles (e.g. city-based societies) and technologies (e.g. medicines) that allow for the survival and propogation of genetic mutations that would, in a purely natural environment, disappear by virtue of the fact that their carriers would not survive to reproduce.

I'm not convinced that the unthinking majority have any genetic propensity for dimwittedness. It seems far more likely to me that they have simply been poorly educated, or perhaps encouraged from the earliest age to take things on faith rather than applying critical reason to everything around them. Looks to me like a significant slice of the population are content to just blunder through life mindlessly accepting what they're told, happy as long as they get to watch their daily dose of soaps in the evening. Kind of sad, in a way, but if it's not genetic then evolution will have nothing to do with it.

The apparent pandering to stupidity, as evidenced by labels on sleeping pills that say "Warning: May cause drowsiness" and the like, seems to me to be a testament to the economic power wielded by insurance companies and lawyers.

Where we have stepped "in the way" is in developing lifestyles (e.g. city-based societies) and technologies (e.g. medicines) that allow for the survival and propogation of genetic mutations that would, in a purely natural environment, disappear by virtue of the fact that their carriers would not survive to reproduce.
You're forgetting that those things primarily protect the more intelligent, weaker people more (take eg. Stephen Hawking).

The problem arises when you make money, capital and location the qualifier for having access to education, nutrition & healthcare instead of giving it universally to everybody on equal basis: Those who don't have money need education, food and healthcare in order to make money but can't afford them, those who have (inherited, family) money don't need education and don't need to worry about healthcare or next meal.

Capitalism is a principle that works well enough for the middle classes - those who can strive and have means for attaining better standing - but practically ceases to function at high and low ends of the spectrum.

Looks to me like a significant slice of the population are content to just blunder through life mindlessly accepting what they're told, happy as long as they get to watch their daily dose of soaps in the evening. Kind of sad, in a way, but if it's not genetic then evolution will have nothing to do with it.

Whereas the self-proclaimed intellectuals of NSG get to depress themselves by talking about how stupid and doomed the rest of the world is!

Sounds like a good deal to me, actually.

/me flicks on a soap.

The term Intelligence Quotient was invented in 1912. The first modern intelligence test was the Binet-Simon scale, published in 1905.

To find such a trend, a test would have needed to be used prior to the beginning of the 19th century. Even if any tests (which would not have been called "IQ") existed in the late 1700s - ie before the 19th century -, none of them would have been used continually over more than two hundred years. This pretty much precludes a trend of the kind you are claiming.

I am struggling to find words to describe how much bull waste your post contains. But I suppose I should have been warned by the time you started out with "a few studies" without a link. :rolleyes:

Also, the IQ test is being steadily increased in difficulty, in order for a score of 100 to still be average. Plus, it doesn't measure intelligence anyways.

You're forgetting that those things primarily protect the more intelligent, weaker people more (take eg. Stephen Hawking).
I'm not forgetting it at all. As it happens, I think that the overriding value of medicine is precisely that it can and does allow preservation of intellects such as Hawking's long past the moment that they would have been lost in the pre-technological age. I was simply observing that such advances place a large part of our species outside the constraints of natural selection (which was what I had assumed the OP had referred to).

Nice points on the ideal of universal education, by the way. I'm all for it (and maybe the laptop initiative (http://laptop.media.mit.edu/) will get the ball rolling)

Whereas the self-proclaimed intellectuals of NSG get to depress themselves by talking about how stupid and doomed the rest of the world is!

Sounds like a good deal to me, actually.

/me flicks on a soap.
I assume that the fact you quoted a slice of my post means that this is aimed at me. Given that 'intellectual', when used as a noun, can most simply be defined as 'someone who uses their mind creatively' I find myself failing to feel insulted (or depressed, for that matter). Perhaps that wasn't your intention.

Regardless, if your idea of a good deal is the passive reception of mind-numbingly boring stories or watered down social conditioning wrapped up in nice little bite-sized chunks and delivered by TV actors in a format that virtually guarantees that you'll still be sitting there to hear whatever it is that the advertisers want you to hear today then just you do that. Enjoy.

There have actually been a few studies that show the average IQ of the world has declined significantly since the beginning of the 19th century. Obviously great strides in nutrition has allowed for the potential to be much higher, but the actual population as a whole has been in decline.

Actually with the Flynn effect the smartest 5% of the 19th century would be among the stupidest 10% nowadays. The average 100 today is higher than the average 100 of yesteryear.

seems to me to be a testament to the economic power wielded by insurance companies and lawyers.

Not that alone really, but a growing lack of individual responsibility. And greed I imagine.

We label our peanut butter "Caution: Contains nuts",

Peanuts are botanically speaking not nuts (tree nuts). They are legumes. It is very important for people allergic to nuts and not to peanuts to know if the peanut butter they intend to buy contains actual nuts, usually as traces because the same machinery is used to process nuts and peanuts in many factories.

So, too stupid to live? Actually, no. Smart enough to know the difference between nuts and peanuts, yes. Something you don't seem to be...

Peanuts are botanically speaking not nuts (tree nuts). They are legumes. It is very important for people allergic to nuts and not to peanuts to know if the peanut butter they intend to buy contains actual nuts, usually as traces because the same machinery is used to process nuts and peanuts in many factories.

So, too stupid to live? Actually, no. Smart enough to know the difference between nuts and peanuts, yes. Something you don't seem to be...

Well, then I guess that's his point. How many Americans know the peanut isn't a nut?

Well, then I guess that's his point. How many Americans know the peanut isn't a nut?

Rotovia is Australian, and his point on the supposed stupidity of others is lost when such glaring stupidity is present in his own OP - well, a glaring stupidity that is separate from the overall obvious stupidity of the OP's inane suggestion.

By the way, I can guarantee you that most if not all of the people allergic to peanuts know the difference between them and nuts, and they are the ones the labels are there for.

By the way, I can guarantee you that most if not all of the people allergic to peanuts know the difference between them and nuts, and they are the ones the labels are there for.

Not surprising, how many is that?

Not surprising, how many is that?

How many is what?

How many is what?

People allergic to peanuts. It never struck me as all that common, though there were rather random no peanut zones 'round my school.

People allergic to peanuts. It never struck me as all that common, though there were rather random no peanut zones 'round my school.

It depends on which country one is talking about, for instance it is more common in the USA than it is in Sweden because of a higher consumption of peanuts and peanut butter. It is one of the most common food allergies among children and adolescents, and it seems to be on the rise. Tree nut and peanut allergies are both responsible for the most severe anaphylactic reactions due to food allergies, and it is thus imperative that sufferers avoid them as far as possible.

99.9999 % of all pitiful humans are too stupid to live.

If one were to create a master race from your run-of-them-mill child geniuses that graduate from college in their early teens, the gene pool would become even less diversified than it already is. Now if you killed them off too, just took the handful of people that finished their first doctorate degree in their pre-teens, they might be intelligent (!=wise) enough to fix any problems fast enough.

Caution: Cape does not enable you to fly
...
On a Batman costume.

if intelligence was purely down to genetics that might work. but it isn't, so it won't

I assume that the fact you quoted a slice of my post means that this is aimed at me. Given that 'intellectual', when used as a noun, can most simply be defined as 'someone who uses their mind creatively' I find myself failing to feel insulted (or depressed, for that matter). Perhaps that wasn't your intention.

Regardless, if your idea of a good deal is the passive reception of mind-numbingly boring stories or watered down social conditioning wrapped up in nice little bite-sized chunks and delivered by TV actors in a format that virtually guarantees that you'll still be sitting there to hear whatever it is that the advertisers want you to hear today then just you do that. Enjoy.

I only quoted your post because it was a good lead-on for mine, and wasn't even being serious on top of that. So you took it personally and (I think?) tried to insult me. Maturity?! Intelligence?! Don't act like a child in a thread where you're trying to establish the intellectual high-ground over the 'lower brains'!

Besides, I really don't doubt that the people you mock are probably happier in life than any of the people who have posted here, if only because they're not spending so much time in their lives complaining about how 'stupid' and 'doomed' the world is. Have you really not got anything better to do with that enormous IQ of yours?

***
(By the way Longhaul, these three stars indicate that I'm not quoting you any more)

I find the level of intellectual snobbery in this thread astounding! Since when did all of you become members of the intellectual elite, exactly? I wonder if the likes of Steven Hawking and his buddies make threads just like this in their own private little forums talking about all of us?

Or perhaps... just perhaps... they're smart enough to have better things to do?

I say just ban the lawsuits. QFT!

On topic, I'd rather have kind hearted idiots than cold hearted intellectuals.I'd rather have kind hearted intellectuals than cold hearted idiots.

I only quoted your post because it was a good lead-on for mine, and wasn't even being serious on top of that. So you took it personally and (I think?) tried to insult me. Maturity?! Intelligence?! Don't act like a child in a thread where you're trying to establish the intellectual high-ground over the 'lower brains'!

Besides, I really don't doubt that the people you mock are probably happier in life than any of the people who have posted here, if only because they're not spending so much time in their lives complaining about how 'stupid' and 'doomed' the world is. Have you really not got anything better to do with that enormous IQ of yours?

***
(By the way Longhaul, these three stars indicate that I'm not quoting you any more)

I find the level of intellectual snobbery in this thread astounding! Since when did all of you become members of the intellectual elite, exactly? I wonder if the likes of Steven Hawking and his buddies make threads just like this in their own private little forums talking about all of us?

Or perhaps... just perhaps... they're smart enough to have better things to do?


hear hear!

Steven Hawkings and his kind are smart enough to know that they have been BLESSED by biology, not by their own doing, and so they are humble in their intellect, not boastful.

A lesson to be learned by many.........

Or label mines with "this side toward enemy". ;)

Dammit, you beat me to it! I'll post the pic anyway.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:US_M18a1_claymore_mine.jpg

Dammit, you beat me to it! I'll post the pic anyway.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:US_M18a1_claymore_mine.jpg

That's not really much of a valid point. You have to realize, that particular weapon was created in the 1960's, and was specifically designed to be used in the Vietnam War.

As we also know about the Vietnam War, there was a draft that was in place, meaning that citizens with ZERO previous military training were suddenly thrown into a quick little education course and then shipped to the battlefront. So it's not necessarily a sign of "stupidity" that the mine reads "this side toward enemy" as much as a sign of any real lack of military training for draftees. So the military wished to avoid as many mistakes and friendly fire casualties as possible, and this little safety warning was one of them.

So, before you go assuming that things are done because people are stupid, learn a little history, do a little research, and there you go.

I'd rather have kind hearted intellectuals than cold hearted idiots.

FTW. *bows*

*reminds me of Catch-22*

Well, then I guess that's his point. How many Americans know the peanut isn't a nut?

*raises hand*

99.9999 % of all pitiful humans are too stupid to live.

If one were to create a master race from your run-of-them-mill child geniuses that graduate from college in their early teens, the gene pool would become even less diversified than it already is. Now if you killed them off too, just took the handful of people that finished their first doctorate degree in their pre-teens, they might be intelligent (!=wise) enough to fix any problems fast enough.

I've met some Ph.D.'s dumber than rocks, and some very intelligent high school drop outs...

I've met some Ph.D.'s dumber than rocks, and some very intelligent high school drop outs...

That's probably because intelligence does not necessarily equal education. A person may be naturally brilliant but not educated, and some people might be well educated, but not formally so. Sometimes, I think we place too much emphasis on degrees and not enough on the actual learning; in a lot of universities, they've stripped down or eliminated almost all of the GEC requirements turning a once broad and truly comprehensive education in to little more than a job mill, giving students only the bare minimum needed for their future jobs and leaving them ignorant of many of the important concepts of human thought.

I mean, honestly, I know a lot of people who are very intelligent but lack formal education and more than a few people in business school who are mind numbingly ignorant...

I only quoted your post because it was a good lead-on for mine, and wasn't even being serious on top of that. So you took it personally and (I think?) tried to insult me. Maturity?! Intelligence?! Don't act like a child in a thread where you're trying to establish the intellectual high-ground over the 'lower brains'!

Besides, I really don't doubt that the people you mock are probably happier in life than any of the people who have posted here, if only because they're not spending so much time in their lives complaining about how 'stupid' and 'doomed' the world is. Have you really not got anything better to do with that enormous IQ of yours?
I rarely take things personally, especially on Internet forums, but I do hate to be misrepresented so I have to reply to this.

I made no attempt to insult you. I had said that a majority of people seemed content to pay little attention to what goes on in the world at large and that they were happy "as long as they got to watch their daily dose of soaps in the evening". You responded by quoting that section of my post, commenting "Whereas the self-proclaimed intellectuals of NSG get to depress themselves by talking about how stupid and doomed the rest of the world is". You went on to say that watching a soap sounded like a good deal, and indicated that you were flicking one on to watch. Fair play.

It seems to come off the rails a little at that point. You accuse me of acting like a child, and of somehow attempting to establish some kind of intellectual high ground. At no point have I claimed to be more intelligent and/or mature than anyone else, since to do so would be colossal arrogance, which is not a vice I indulge. Nor have I made any claims about possessing an "enormous IQ", and I wouldn't since a) I really don't consider IQ scores to be particularly meaningful and b) making any such claims on an Internet forum would be asinine anyway.

As for happiness, I'm glad to be able to inform you that I am one of the most disgustingly, annoyingly happy individuals around. I am blissfully happily married, live in a nice house and want for nothing. That I enjoy thinking about things and seeking my own answers to questions rather than having them spoon-fed to me doesn't leave me bitter or maudlin - in fact I find it all rather fulfilling.

Whatever it was that sparked your ire, I ask only that you go back and read what I said objectively. If you honestly still believe that I was attempting to insult you personally, or that I was complaining about the world being "doomed" then I shall try and explain myself again.

one does, however, have to wonder what brought some of these warning labels...

On a Swedish chainsaw:
Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals. (Oooooooowwwwww)

On a string of Chinese-made Christmas lights:
For indoor or outdoor use only. (remember, OR, not AND!)

On a Korean kitchen knife:
Warning keep out of children. (sound advice.)

On Nytol sleep aid:
Warning: may cause drowsiness. (DUH!)

On Boot's Children's cough medicine:
Do not drive ar or operate machinery. (Suzy! Get down from that Forklift right now!)

On packaging for a Rowenta iron:
Do not iron clothes on body. (but I'll be late for work!!!)

PRINTED bottle of drain cleaner
If you do not understand or cannot read all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this product. (... :headbang:)\

A label on a baby stroller warns:
“Remove child before folding" (But little Timmy is double jointed...)

and these award winners (http://www.mlaw.org/wwl/photos.html)...

You could build a shed on the beach, with the walls inside out.
Cookie for the (easy) reference.
Yes, put the world in the Asylum, the poor thing.

Caution: Cape does not enable you to fly
...
On a Batman costume.

Jeez. Everybody knows Batman can't fly. Anybody who'd try it really deserves to die.

It is a fact at least in the US that the more educated (I don't know if that directly relates to intelligence) the fewer the children. The less educated the more children.

A couple of General Forum threads and recent newspaper articles have got me thinking: "have we stepped in the way of evolution?". We label our peanut butter "Caution: Contains nuts", we label kettles "Caution: Hot" and recently the Gold Coast City Council went as far as to considering warning signs about warning signs.

But, are all our good intentions in vein. Think about this; a few hundred years ago if you were too stupid to avoid to realise a dangerous animal might eat you if you're acting like a fool, you died. That was it, your stupidity was removed from the gene pool. Now these people are living to breed with other idiots and create a new race of super-idiots, fueling the success of shows such as America's Funniest Home Videos.

Now I'm not advocating mandatory IQ test and sterilising everyone with an IQ bellow 95 (or am i...no, no I'm not...not right now anyway), but I am saying that if someone lights their own fart on fire, don't call an ambulance. Just let nature take it's course. It's the humane thing to do, they'll just end up catching their foreskin in their fly tomorrow...

Poll coming, why not...

You mean in vain. A vein is a blood vessel.

You mean in vain. A vein is a blood vessel.

but... but... if our Veins are empty... then we can't have any good intentions... :D

Peanuts are botanically speaking not nuts (tree nuts). They are legumes. It is very important for people allergic to nuts and not to peanuts to know if the peanut butter they intend to buy contains actual nuts, usually as traces because the same machinery is used to process nuts and peanuts in many factories.

So, too stupid to live? Actually, no. Smart enough to know the difference between nuts and peanuts, yes. Something you don't seem to be...

Fass, is this seriously the highlight of your day? If so, I'd suggest finding a new partner, and not cocking it up this time. Perhaps not spreading your cheeks to every tom, dick and harry would be a good start.

one does, however, have to wonder what brought some of these warning labels...

On a Swedish chainsaw:
Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals. (Oooooooowwwwww)

On a string of Chinese-made Christmas lights:
For indoor or outdoor use only. (remember, OR, not AND!)

On a Korean kitchen knife:
Warning keep out of children. (sound advice.)

On Nytol sleep aid:
Warning: may cause drowsiness. (DUH!)

On Boot's Children's cough medicine:
Do not drive ar or operate machinery. (Suzy! Get down from that Forklift right now!)

On packaging for a Rowenta iron:
Do not iron clothes on body. (but I'll be late for work!!!)

PRINTED bottle of drain cleaner
If you do not understand or cannot read all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this product. (... :headbang:)\

A label on a baby stroller warns:
“Remove child before folding" (But little Timmy is double jointed...)

and these award winners (http://www.mlaw.org/wwl/photos.html)...

<3 you. :D

Kinda makes me think you have some good anecdotes for this thread. ;)

but... but... if our Veins are empty... then we can't have any good intentions... :D

Don'tcha mean "in-tensions" :p

Fass, is this seriously the highlight of your day? If so, I'd suggest finding a new partner, and not cocking it up this time. Perhaps not spreading your cheeks to every tom, dick and harry would be a good start.

I got the exact same impression.

Some wounds run deep.

You mean in vain. A vein is a blood vessel.

No, I mean inside a vein... yup...

Actually with the Flynn effect the smartest 5% of the 19th century would be among the stupidest 10% nowadays. The average 100 today is higher than the average 100 of yesteryear.

What's the flynn model?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200608/s1704016.htm

"Despite the development of technological advances, he (Professor Colin Groves) says there is no evidence that Homo sapiens have become more intelligent in the last 50,000 years."

<3 you. :D

Kinda makes me think you have some good anecdotes for this thread. ;)

>.>

<.<

I deny everything...

one does, however, have to wonder what brought some of these warning labels...
...

Not to protect the stupid users, but to protect the companies making the products from seemingly frivolous lawsuits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_liability

Case in point:Alcohol and tobacco warning labels. You think any company would've added them if laws hadn't been passed to make them mandatory ?

one does, however, have to wonder what brought some of these warning labels

Not so much to protect stupid people but to protect the companies making the products from seemingly frivolous lawsuits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_liability

Case in point: Alcohol and tobacco warning labels. I don't see how any for-profit company would've added them if laws hadn't been passed to make them mandatory.

Not to protect the stupid users, but to protect the companies making the products from seemingly frivolous lawsuits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_liability

Case in point:Alcohol and tobacco warning labels. You think any company would've added them if laws hadn't been passed to make them mandatory ?

Not to protect the stupid users, but to protect the companies making the products from seemingly frivolous lawsuits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_liability

Case in point:Alcohol and tobacco warning labels. You think any company would've added them if laws hadn't been passed to make them mandatory ?

:eek:

What's the flynn model?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200608/s1704016.htm

http://www.indiana.edu/%7Eintell/flynneffect.shtml

Its not really a model per se. just an observation that the statistical averages of IQ tests have generally risen over the long term since the tests have been around. There are a number of possible causes for this.

Fass, is this seriously the highlight of your day? If so, I'd suggest finding a new partner, and not cocking it up this time. Perhaps not spreading your cheeks to every tom, dick and harry would be a good start.

That's kind of touchy considering he only corrected you. Actually, I believe he pointed out how a label wasn't stupid/pointless so you should be happy that we aren't doomed to stupidity instead of bitchy and immature.

http://www.indiana.edu/%7Eintell/flynneffect.shtml

Its not really a model per se. just an observation that the statistical averages of IQ tests have generally risen over the long term since the tests have been around. There are a number of possible causes for this.

Interesting thanks

That's kind of touchy considering he only corrected you. Actually, I believe he pointed out how a label wasn't stupid/pointless so you should be happy that we aren't doomed to stupidity instead of bitchy and immature.You are of course, correct. That was more a response to a particular person who seems to to nothing but roam around nation-states looking for opportunities to correct minutiae. A person I think this forum would be better off without. That said, it probably was out of line, and I'm sorry for that. I would like the record to reflect the comment is a personal attack on Fass' infidelity, and not on his sexual orientation.

PS. I make no apologies for misspellings in the poll. I hope it causes intense cerebral pain

does that go for the homonyms too?

I would like the record to reflect the comment is a personal attack on Fass' fidelity, and not on his sexual orientation.

I find that comment rather amusing...

does that go for the homonyms too?

and grammatical errors, logical inconsistencies, contradictions, faulty analogies and sentence fragments.

In my experience stupid women tend to be more attracted to stupid men.
Unfourtunatly, the majority of women that I've ever met have been stupid...but then again, so have the majority of the men that I've met as well.

Yeah, thats what i'we noticed too...





"Shot to the head, and we have no problem" :sniper::mp5::mp5:

Not so much to protect stupid people but to protect the companies making the products from seemingly frivolous lawsuits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_liability

Case in point: Alcohol and tobacco warning labels. I don't see how any for-profit company would've added them if laws hadn't been passed to make them mandatory.


I can see that... and I agree with it.

I can understand "Do not stop chain with any parts of the body" for the Chainsaw warning... but to specifically mention GENITALS?

and I sudder to think what other purpose those christmas lights were used for to prompt "For INDOOR or OUTDOOR use only"

after all, most warning labels won't be made unless 1) order to by law [Cigs and acohol] or 2) they were sued by someone who used that product in such a way.

like having a child operate heavy machinery after taking their cough syrup. :p

On topic, I'd rather have kind hearted idiots than cold hearted intellectuals.
Why?

I disagree, as it happens, but I wonder what causes your preference.

and grammatical errors, logical inconsistencies, contradictions, faulty analogies and sentence fragments.

:p

:D

There was a reference on CNN (cant rememebr the page), to the amount of cash spent on the education of low IQ folks to drag them up to being able to sign on a welfare form with a fair chance of spelling x right as $8 billion/yr
Specifically it mentioned the folks 3 standard deviations below average.
Which is all fair and good

Then it compared that with the education spending on folks 3 SD's above average, you know the high IQ folks who come up with useful stuff like atomic bombs, ABS braking systems and non-stick frying pans, which is $600 million/yr

Yes thats right, if you child is smart and gifted, it gets over 10 times less spent on education than the kid barely able to write.

And your gifted child is just a liable to personality disorders and disruptive behaviour the teachers try getting the low IQ folks out of.

El-Presidente Boris IQ 142-145

And I want my cookie "Mostly Harmless" by D. Adams

Yes thats right, if you child is smart and gifted, it gets over 10 times less spent on education than the kid barely able to write.

Doesn't that make sense? I mean, to goal of public education is to bring everyone to the same level, and then let individuals continue as they wish. If I'm already a good student, I see no point in spending money educating me about something I already know.

Doesn't that make sense? I mean, to goal of public education is to bring everyone to the same level, and then let individuals continue as they wish. If I'm already a good student, I see no point in spending money educating me about something I already know.

The point of education is to allow for excellence and progress; there is little point teaching the masses who will tar roads, clean toilets and wash cars the intricacies of academia, what with it being a waste of money.

The point of education is to allow for excellence and progress; there is little point teaching the masses who will tar roads, clean toilets and wash cars the intricacies of academia, what with it being a waste of money.
Maybe, but that seems to defeat the purpose of representative government. If most people are poorly educated, they are less likely to vote, or voice their opinions, or...ohhhh, now I get it.

Maybe, but that seems to defeat the purpose of representative government. If most people are poorly educated, they are less likely to vote, or voice their opinions, or...ohhhh, now I get it.

Representative government is a joke anyway; do you truly believe the electorate in either the UK or USA are all politicised idealists with a burning passion to see their principles in office? If so, you shouldn't. It is not that the stupid lack the ability to take an interest in politics; they have a public library, should be literate, and have various forms of media, rather, the lack the inclination.

Doesn't that make sense? I mean, to goal of public education is to bring everyone to the same level, and then let individuals continue as they wish. If I'm already a good student, I see no point in spending money educating me about something I already know.

the problem for you is that trying to educate people on the finer points of proving X^2+Y^2=Z^2 is that its insanely difficult for the morons to grasp yet you are fed up , bored and want the teacher to go onto something interesting like using calculus to show how a car's ABS system actually works, or the finer points of Bohr's model of an atom.

To try and bring everyone to the same level forgets a fundelmental aspect of human beings... we're all different.
Some can barely write their name or string a sentence together ,but can kick a soccer ball way better than any man alive.
Do you advocate trying to teach everyone to play soccer to his level...or fitting the gifted player with hobnailed boots to bring him down to our level of skill. thats what programs like 'no child left behind' actually mean, because they ensure no child gets ahead either.

There have actually been a few studies that show the average IQ of the world has declined significantly since the beginning of the 19th century. Obviously great strides in nutrition has allowed for the potential to be much higher, but the actual population as a whole has been in decline.

If you want to know where we will be in a few hundred years, watch this movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

de ja vu.I remember htis exact post a long tim ago.

There have actually been a few studies that show the average IQ of the world has declined significantly since the beginning of the 19th century. Obviously great strides in nutrition has allowed for the potential to be much higher, but the actual population as a whole has been in decline.

If you want to know where we will be in a few hundred years, watch this movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

de ja vu.I remember htis exact post a long tim ago.

There have actually been a few studies that show the average IQ of the world has declined significantly since the beginning of the 19th century. Obviously great strides in nutrition has allowed for the potential to be much higher, but the actual population as a whole has been in decline.

If you want to know where we will be in a few hundred years, watch this movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

de ja vu.I remember htis exact post a long tim ago.

A couple of General Forum threads and recent newspaper articles have got me thinking: "have we stepped in the way of evolution?". We label our peanut butter "Caution: Contains nuts", we label kettles "Caution: Hot" and recently the Gold Coast City Council went as far as to considering warning signs about warning signs.

But, are all our good intentions in vein. Think about this; a few hundred years ago if you were too stupid to avoid to realise a dangerous animal might eat you if you're acting like a fool, you died. That was it, your stupidity was removed from the gene pool. Now these people are living to breed with other idiots and create a new race of super-idiots, fueling the success of shows such as America's Funniest Home Videos.

Now I'm not advocating mandatory IQ test and sterilising everyone with an IQ bellow 95 (or am i...no, no I'm not...not right now anyway), but I am saying that if someone lights their own fart on fire, don't call an ambulance. Just let nature take it's course. It's the humane thing to do, they'll just end up catching their foreskin in their fly tomorrow...

Poll coming, why not...

I don't disagree. What is it they say? Ignorance can be cured but stupidity is forever. I love that saying and the jist of it and I find myself shaking my head when I see warnings such as "Warning Hot Coffee is Hot" and "Contains Nuts" when its obviously peanut butter. The way we're going all of the thinking is done for us and that is fine with a majority of the problem, which makes me seem to think that all the money I spent in college was a waste of money, although not really. We would find the population radically declining if there was true survival of the fittest and idiots weren't protected from their own idiocy. It never ceases to amaze me just how stupid people are and, when they do something incredibly stupid (i.e. eat peanut butter when they are allergic and know it) and then sue because the product HAD peanuts and they weren't told, and then they win the goddamn case, it seems more and more like we're promoting stupidity rather than discouraging it. Just look at the education system. They consider "D"s to be "B"s without their belts on, as Dennis Miller so proudly said once. They don't discipline or teach kids because of all this p.c. nonsense and "feelings" nonsense so Johnny, who can't read, graduates high school with a D- average and his parents are so proud of him but, because of their bickering and meddling, the teacher was never allowed to hold Johnny back because he couldn't read. That wasn't fair...

.. hmm seems like a rant but it wasn't meant to be ..

:confused:de ja vu.I remember htis exact post a long tim ago.

i remember his exact post aswell well just about anyway now that is de ja vu:gundge: