NationStates Jolt Archive


I contest the notion that I'm especially gifted..

SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 16:27
.. and rather contend that the rest of the population is especially stupid.

I just refuse to accept that not realizing the things listed below is indicative of normal cognitive development, and that my knowledge would be anything more than normal.

You see, I'd have thought that it is common knowledge and the fruit of any half-decently skilled thought process that most household appliances and utensils are there to be used. I have not thought that ignorance of this fact, and, for what it's worth, assertion of the contrary should be considered anything but a sign of abnormally low intelligence.

Take the bathroom, for example. It appears to be the norm to be perfectly aware of the toilet and the advisability of its usage, but when it comes to the brush, it seems to be okay to feign oblivion of it. Or the sink and tap. Everyone knows how to operate those, but few mastered the use of soap. Or the shower. All of my flatmates make extensive and skillful use of the fancy rotateable shower head, but this expertise does not extend to the correct use of the shower curtain (needless to say that knowledge of how to dry bathmats is also suspiciously absent).

The list goes on in the kitchen as well. Microwave? No problem. Using the microwave plate cover that's conveniently located inside? Unheard of. Cutting up veggies? Sure thing. Using any sort of cutting board or the like? Naaah. Using the litter bin pedal that opens the bin so that one can deposit trash? Routine. Operating the little catch that releases the bin so one can carry the thrash outside? Ah no, that's certainly not to be used.

I could go on forever.. but fear not, I won't. Instead, let me ask you what other idiots you encounter in your daily life, no matter whether they exhibit incompetence in ordinary household tasks, in common politeness, etc..?


Oh, and as to add a lighter note, go and do this fun idiot test:

http://users.skynet.be/bk258512/idiot_test.swf

and honestly report back your level of smartness!

.

.
Khadgar
18-07-2008, 16:54
Something that really burns my ass is people who can't drive. Most common fuckup people have is as follows:

Two cars, one north bound one south bound at a 4 way intersection. Both are turning left. Light turns green. One moron, and it appears to be random which one, will sit and wait for the other to turn instead of both going at once. I haven't figured out how they decide when it's their turn yet. I've seen people sit and wait for four or five people to turn past them before they go. I guess they don't think two cars can make turns in opposite directions at once without colliding, even if the person in front of them did just that.


Things that make you want to send out pipe bombs..
Trostia
18-07-2008, 16:58
Two cars, one north bound one south bound at a 4 way intersection. Both are turning left. Light turns green. One moron, and it appears to be random which one, will sit and wait for the other to turn instead of both going at once. I haven't figured out how they decide when it's their turn yet. I've seen people sit and wait for four or five people to turn past them before they go. I guess they don't think two cars can make turns in opposite directions at once without colliding, even if the person in front of them did just that.

I've noticed that too. I think it stems from an inherent and, in my opinion, healthy paranoia that the other guy will actually go straight ahead, or turn the opposite direction.

And this is plausible since people don't know how to fucking signal either.
Agolthia
18-07-2008, 16:58
Oh, and as to add a lighter note, go and do this fun idiot test:

http://users.skynet.be/bk258512/idiot_test.swf

and honestly report back your level of smartness!

.

.

I made it all the way to the end although I did get stuck at one point due to slight colour blindness.
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 17:03
Something that really burns my ass is people who can't drive. Most common fuckup people have is as follows:

Two cars, one north bound one south bound at a 4 way intersection. Both are turning left.[...]

Are you US-American? Do you guys, in the kind f situation you described, drive and turn without their imagined tracks on the road crossing, or do you first drive past each other and then turn?

Because if you did the latter, what you describe really makes no sense whatsoever.
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 17:05
I made it all the way to the end although I did get stuck at one point due to slight colour blindness.

I have to confess to getting caught up in the square/rectangle thing when the blue ones came up.. oh, and I wasn't quick enough with the green button first time 'round.



Oh, and another thing that repeatedly gets my goat is when people quote fucking huge posts in their entirety when they want to respond to a single line within those posts only.
Anti-Social Darwinism
18-07-2008, 17:06
People (specifically my daughter) who, after making a meal, leave things lying around. The trash can is mere inches away, yet paper towels, empty boxes and food scraps litter the counter. The sink and/or the dishwasher are but a step away, yet dirty dishes and implements are strewn about like landmines. How much intelligence and effort does it take to a) put the trash in the trash can and b) at the very least put dishes and utensils in the sink (or even to go the next step and rinse them and put them in the dishwasher)? I'd give extra credit for wiping down the counter and rinsing the sponge.

Oh, and how many pots, pans, plates, cutting boards and utensils does it really take to make a simple sandwich? My daughter uses every item in the kitchen (I think she gets this from her father).

I really hate having to clean up the kitchen just so I can cook a meal and then clean it up again!
Ashmoria
18-07-2008, 17:08
.. and rather contend that the rest of the population is especially stupid.

I just refuse to accept that not realizing the things listed below is indicative of normal cognitive development, and that my knowledge would be anything more than normal.

You see, I'd have thought that it is common knowledge and the fruit of any half-decently skilled thought process that most household appliances and utensils are there to be used. I have not thought that ignorance of this fact, and, for what it's worth, assertion of the contrary should be considered anything but a sign of abnormally low intelligence.

Take the bathroom, for example. It appears to be the norm to be perfectly aware of the toilet and the advisability of its usage, but when it comes to the brush, it seems to be okay to feign oblivion of it. Or the sink and tap. Everyone knows how to operate those, but few mastered the use of soap. Or the shower. All of my flatmates make extensive and skillful use of the fancy rotateable shower head, but this expertise does not extend to the correct use of the shower curtain (needless to say that knowledge of how to dry bathmats is also suspiciously absent).

The list goes on in the kitchen as well. Microwave? No problem. Using the microwave plate cover that's conveniently located inside? Unheard of. Cutting up veggies? Sure thing. Using any sort of cutting board or the like? Naaah. Using the litter bin pedal that opens the bin so that one can deposit trash? Routine. Operating the little catch that releases the bin so one can carry the thrash outside? Ah no, that's certainly not to be used.



noooo your flatmates arent stupid. they are delusional. they think they are still living with mommy and daddy and dont need to do the household chores themselves.
Cameroi
18-07-2008, 17:11
person's with whome living arraingements must be shaired are inheirently a plague. why aflict oneself with it other then out of dire neccessity?

asuredly in a world less tyrannical, none of us would be prohibited, or even inhibited, from seeking the solitude of personally improvised shelter. nature does not prohibit this, only the pomposity of collective human ego, in the form of building codes does so.

=^^=
.../\...
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 17:13
How much intelligence and effort does it take to a) put the trash in the trash can and b) at the very least put dishes and utensils in the sink (or even to go the next step and rinse them and put them in the dishwasher)?

"Too much", is my experience with the people I've lived with so far. The same goes for using the little sieve that covers the drain so that all kinds of gunk and little food scraps don't get washed down the drain and clog it, but rather get caught in the sieve, which one then proceeds to pick up and empty into the trash can.

... my flatmates, if they use it, empty it into the sink.

Oh, and how many pots, pans, plates, cutting boards and utensils does it really take to make a simple sandwich?

That depends on the size and well-equippedness of the kitchen. The number is usually 3/4 times the amount of utensils you have in the kitchen (that aren't locked away) and increases if you have complicated/sensitive utensils that cannot be dish-washer washed.
Khadgar
18-07-2008, 17:17
I've noticed that too. I think it stems from an inherent and, in my opinion, healthy paranoia that the other guy will actually go straight ahead, or turn the opposite direction.

And this is plausible since people don't know how to fucking signal either.
Oh yes I've noticed that too. The fucking cops here don't signal. They also park left of center. Fuckwits.
Are you US-American? Do you guys, in the kind f situation you described, drive and turn without their imagined tracks on the road crossing, or do you first drive past each other and then turn?

Because if you did the latter, what you describe really makes no sense whatsoever.

The former. Normally you just both turn at once and go by each other. You don't drive past then turn.
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 17:17
noooo your flatmates arent stupid. they are delusional. they think they are still living with mommy and daddy and dont need to do the household chores themselves.

If they still hold that delusion after having been sent massive amounts of angry notes (anyone already familiar with passiveaggressivenotes.com ? Hilarious site), then they qualify as stupid again.

At least one of my flatmates falls squarely in the "malicious idiocy" category. Not only does he suddenly know how to use all and any cleaning etc. utensils when his girlfriend is around, he also manages to brazenly lay blame for all remaining traces of his laziness and unhygienic habits on us. It'd be infuriating if it weren't so pathetic.
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 17:21
The former. Normally you just both turn at once and go by each other. You don't drive past then turn.

*nods*

I remember from driver's ed that my instructor told us that about eons ago, people in this country used the same turning practice we (now) call "turning the American way", and that we ought to be prepared to have old people (you know, the kind who really oughtn't drive anymore because their eyesight and reflexes pretty much are nil anyway?) want to turn "in front of" us, so to speak, instead of passing and turning "behind us".

It never happened to me yet.
Fassitude
18-07-2008, 17:45
I contest the notion that I'm especially gifted..

False modesty.
Pure Metal
18-07-2008, 17:52
one of the most stupid things i find in everyday life is people who don't indicate to turn right at roundabouts. if you don't indicate when you're turning right, i will assume - quite with reason, when i have seen you come round the roundabout - that you are turning off. i will then go myself, and fairly often these turds who are too stupid to use the indicator will very nearly run into me.


Take the bathroom, for example. It appears to be the norm to be perfectly aware of the toilet and the advisability of its usage, but when it comes to the brush, it seems to be okay to feign oblivion of it. Or the sink and tap. Everyone knows how to operate those, but few mastered the use of soap. Or the shower. All of my flatmates make extensive and skillful use of the fancy rotateable shower head, but this expertise does not extend to the correct use of the shower curtain (needless to say that knowledge of how to dry bathmats is also suspiciously absent).

The list goes on in the kitchen as well. Microwave? No problem. Using the microwave plate cover that's conveniently located inside? Unheard of. Cutting up veggies? Sure thing. Using any sort of cutting board or the like? Naaah. Using the litter bin pedal that opens the bin so that one can deposit trash? Routine. Operating the little catch that releases the bin so one can carry the thrash outside? Ah no, that's certainly not to be used.


ah but does lazy = stupid? ;)
Agolthia
18-07-2008, 18:00
I have to confess to getting caught up in the square/rectangle thing when the blue ones came up.. oh, and I wasn't quick enough with the green button first time 'round.



Oh, and another thing that repeatedly gets my goat is when people quote fucking huge posts in their entirety when they want to respond to a single line within those posts only.

:$
Appologies, I'll go and edit it now. Guess I might not have passed the idiot test after all....
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 18:03
False modesty.

False flattery. What's in it for you? I can't cook, and you don't want to get into my pants either.


one of the most stupid things i find in everyday life is people who don't indicate to turn right at roundabouts. if you don't indicate when you're turning right, i will assume - quite with reason, when i have seen you come round the roundabout - that you are turning off. i will then go myself, and fairly often these turds who are too stupid to use the indicator will very nearly run into me.

I fear I don't understand. You expect people to use their turn signal to indicate that they're staying in the roundabout? Maybe I'm just confused with trying to turn everything around in my head (stupid left-side driving), but... here, one only indicates when one wants to leave the roundabout*, but not when one enters it or stays in it.


*Theoretically. Most people are assholes of gigantic proportions and don't.



ah but does lazy = stupid? ;)

Taking into account my vicious responses to lazy people in my apartment, yes. One'd think it'd take only one dumping of your dirty dishes into your bed before you start doing them properly.
Conserative Morality
18-07-2008, 18:03
My memory is crap. Therefore, I'm kinda smart.:)

Also, idiots in my life include:

Hypocrites within my family.

Yeah, that's it. I don't get out much.:D
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 18:08
Appologies, I'll go and edit it now. Guess I might not have passed the idiot test after all....
Oh, but people who admit mistakes, correct them and maybe even - gosh! - learn from them are highly intelligent.


I have a vague feeling that regularly posting on NSG forfeits any claim to major intelligence anyhow.
Fassitude
18-07-2008, 18:08
False flattery. What's in it for you? I can't cook, and you don't want to get into my pants either.

As you demonstrate, there is nothing in it for me. That's why you can know it is sincere.
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 18:09
Also, idiots in my life include:

Hypocrites within my family.


So what's your family say about idiots in their life?
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 18:10
As you demonstrate, there is nothing in it for me. That's why you can know it is sincere.

If you really loved me, you'd have sent me oodles and oodles of cookies and pies by now! So there!
Fassitude
18-07-2008, 18:12
If you really loved me, you'd have sent me oodles and oodles of cookies and pies by now! So there!

What cookies have we here that you have not over there? You need only to say and I shall send them.
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 18:14
What cookies have we here that you have not over there? You need only to say and I shall send them.

Don't open yourself to abuse thus.

Since the IKEA-shops have vastly extended their repertoire, there isn't much but.. the ones you bake yourselves! Remember that I know, that I've even seen pictures!
Conserative Morality
18-07-2008, 18:15
So what's your family say about idiots in their life?

They point at me.:D
Blasterainia
18-07-2008, 18:16
Yeah. People these days tend to have the average intellect of 1 square foot of AstroTurf.
I do really like that test though, its is quite interesting. It does seem to give an accurate representation of human society.

And just for fun...
:salute: :mp5:
Fassitude
18-07-2008, 18:18
Don't open yourself to abuse thus.

Since the IKEA-shops have vastly extended their repertoire, there isn't much but.. the ones you bake yourselves! Remember that I know, that I've even seen pictures!

When did I make cookies? I made buns and stuff, but I don't recall ever having made cookies like that.
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 18:20
They point at me.:D

The fact that you can connect that with the question at hand makes you rather smart. ;P

Yeah. People these days tend to have the average intellect of 1 square foot of AstroTurf.
I do really like that test though, its is quite interesting. It does seem to give an accurate representation of human society.

And just for fun...
:salute: :mp5:

a) You measure intellect in area units.

b) You believe abhorrent smiles are fun.


Glasshouses, and all that. And yes, my humor was found to be malign and has been removed recently.
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 18:26
When did I make cookies? I made buns and stuff, but I don't recall ever having made cookies like that.

Buns are cookies, silly. Everything you bake and isn't cake is cookie.
Fassitude
18-07-2008, 18:30
Buns are cookies, silly. Everything you bake and isn't cake is cookie.

Nope. Cookies are usually dry and crunchy. Anything that is moist as buns is not a cookie.
Conserative Morality
18-07-2008, 18:32
Nope. Cookies are usually dry and crunchy. Anything that is moist as buns is not a cookie.

What about soft cookies dipped in milk? Are those buns?:p
Fassitude
18-07-2008, 18:40
What about soft cookies dipped in milk?

And what "soft cookies" are you speaking of?
Pure Metal
18-07-2008, 18:41
I fear I don't understand. You expect people to use their turn signal to indicate that they're staying in the roundabout? Maybe I'm just confused with trying to turn everything around in my head (stupid left-side driving), but... here, one only indicates when one wants to leave the roundabout*, but not when one enters it or stays in it.

*Theoretically. Most people are assholes of gigantic proportions and don't.


well, here, if you are turning right at the roundabout (ie going 3/4 the way round or equivalent) you should signal to the right. if you are turning left (the first exit) then you should signal to the left. it is only when you are going straight ahead (which, in reality, is anywhere but the first and last exit) that you don't signal.

when you are coming off the roundabout, you should always signal to the left.

so, on the assumption that most people don't indicate when they are exiting (like you say), if someone comes round the roundabout (ie they are turning, from their perspective, right) and doesn't indicate they are turning right, i will estimate that they are going straight ahead because they are not indicating to go right. ie, on the drawing below, they are actually doing the green line, but i assume they are taking the orange line. hence i go and all of a sudden find they are still coming at me.

people indicating to turn right is more common than people indicating to turn off, which is why i make the assumption that they are going straight ahead (the orange line), because they are more likely to just not be indicating to turn off than they are to not indicate to turn right.

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/9990/roundaboutcr1.jpg


yes, i drew a diagram. its more fun than doing work... :$


man i hope that makes sense/is worth the effort ;)

perhaps i should just boil it down to: it is stupid not to indicate correctly while driving, in any situation.
Call to power
18-07-2008, 18:41
people who don't realize that traffic rules still apply when walking should be made to entertain a family of gorillas

don't get me started on people who only put a fiver on their car in petrol and are thus constantly stopping at petrol stations

I have to confess to getting caught up in the square/rectangle thing when the blue ones came up.. oh, and I wasn't quick enough with the green button first time 'round.



Oh, and another thing that repeatedly gets my goat is when people quote fucking huge posts in their entirety when they want to respond to a single line within those posts only.

I agree
Conserative Morality
18-07-2008, 18:43
And what "soft cookies" are you speaking of?

Those chewy chocolate chip ones.
Fassitude
18-07-2008, 18:44
Those chewy chocolate chip ones.

They're not soft here. Link!
Call to power
18-07-2008, 18:46
Those chewy chocolate chip ones.

ones that are cooked for a small amount of time so they are not made crispy (ie not crap) in people description
Conserative Morality
18-07-2008, 18:49
They're not soft here. Link!
http://tellyouwhatithink.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/611.jpg
Those things bend like dough.
Nanatsu no Tsuki
18-07-2008, 18:51
I am particularly gifted, the rest of the population is very dumb. End of story.


Don't kill me, eh. I'm joking here.
Conserative Morality
18-07-2008, 18:52
I an gifted, the rest of the population is very dumb. End of story.


Don't kill me, eh. I'm joking here.
*Kills Nanatsu*:D
Nanatsu no Tsuki
18-07-2008, 18:56
*Kills Nanatsu*:D

*takes CM with her to the grave*:D
Maineiacs
18-07-2008, 19:12
I am particularly gifted, the rest of the population is very dumb. End of story.


Don't kill me, eh. I'm joking here.
I was going to say something before I noticed the "joking" part.
:$ :p
Conserative Morality
18-07-2008, 19:14
*takes CM with her to the grave*:D
Nanatsu! That's sick! I'm still a minor! :eek::D
Nanatsu no Tsuki
18-07-2008, 19:21
Nanatsu! That's sick! I'm still a minor! :eek::D

A minor with a very perverted mind...:rolleyes:
Conserative Morality
18-07-2008, 19:28
A minor with a very perverted mind...:rolleyes:

Yep. That's why I fit in so well here.:D
Nanatsu no Tsuki
18-07-2008, 19:49
Yep. That's why I fit in so well here.:D

Gotcha.:D
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 20:08
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/9990/roundaboutcr1.jpg
Wow, now that's a complicated system of roundabout signalling. Here, you just get on the roundabout and do nothing until you're just about to exit and then you signal (left). Seeing how the space between exits usually is ridiculously short, most people don't bother to signal, or start signalling too early so that people think they get off earlier than they do. It's all a hassle, really.


I agree

Bastard. ;P
Copiosa Scotia
18-07-2008, 20:13
I've noticed that too. I think it stems from an inherent and, in my opinion, healthy paranoia that the other guy will actually go straight ahead, or turn the opposite direction.

And this is plausible since people don't know how to fucking signal either.

Yeah, this. It always makes me nervous to be in the left-hand lane of a double turn, because too often I've noticed people starting in the right lane but drifting into the left by the time they've completed their turn.
Khadgar
18-07-2008, 20:14
It's all a hassle, really.

Question, why not just use a simple four way intersection instead?
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 20:21
Question, why not just use a simple four way intersection instead?

I believe that if people used roundabouts correctly, they'd be able to prevent the clogging that happens with four-way crossroads. They are often installed at places where lots of traffic needs to move quickly.
Khadgar
18-07-2008, 20:24
I believe that if people used roundabouts correctly, they'd be able to prevent the clogging that happens with four-way crossroads. They are often installed at places where lots of traffic needs to move quickly.

If the average shlub had that kind of mental acuity you'd not of made this thread quod erat demonstrandum.
SoWiBi
18-07-2008, 20:43
If the average shlub had that kind of mental acuity you'd not of made this thread quod erat demonstrandum.

Well, and if I were in road design, I'd probably not have this much time to post annoyed rants on NSG, so... maybe road design people live in their own little bubble where people are smart little fellows at all times?
Ryadn
18-07-2008, 22:30
Something that really burns my ass is people who can't drive. Most common fuckup people have is as follows:

Two cars, one north bound one south bound at a 4 way intersection. Both are turning left. Light turns green. One moron, and it appears to be random which one, will sit and wait for the other to turn instead of both going at once. I haven't figured out how they decide when it's their turn yet. I've seen people sit and wait for four or five people to turn past them before they go. I guess they don't think two cars can make turns in opposite directions at once without colliding, even if the person in front of them did just that.


Things that make you want to send out pipe bombs..

The one that irritates me to no end is people who stop/pause before making a right turn WHEN THE LIGHT IS GREEN.

I don't know if they think there are special rules for making rights on a green light, or if they're just so used to yielding for a red light, but I will sit in line and watch three or four people slow down, sometimes even stop, before making the weighty decision to turn right on a green light.

This happens 10x more when there's a green "right turn only" light and the regular light is red. People go into positronic lock.
Agolthia
18-07-2008, 23:54
Oh, but people who admit mistakes, correct them and maybe even - gosh! - learn from them are highly intelligent.


I have a vague feeling that regularly posting on NSG forfeits any claim to major intelligence anyhow.

Maybe it averages out and I'm averagely intelligent.

Thinking about the main part the OP, I reckon most of my idiot stories would inolve rowing and therefore might be a mite obscure. They generally tend to involve people rowing on the wrong side of the river, blocking bridges and just doing generally stupid things.

Reading over the driving idiot stories, I'm a little worried, I have my first driving lesson on monday, it's entirely possible that I will be one of those idiots.
The Infinite Dunes
19-07-2008, 10:36
You're confusing laziness with stupidity.

Oh, I got to the quick press of the green button test. It's early in the morning and I'm using a trackpad, so meh. See - laziness, not stupidity.
SoWiBi
19-07-2008, 11:31
Reading over the driving idiot stories, I'm a little worried, I have my first driving lesson on monday, it's entirely possible that I will be one of those idiots.

As long as the car you're in sports the learner's L or whatever people use in your country, that's okay. It's only drivers in unmarked cars that are open prey.

You're confusing laziness with stupidity.

As mentioned above, I rule out this possibility due to the draconic measures I employ when meeting with such potential laziness, which invariably ends up being more work for the lazy/idiotic person than if they had done things properly. So maybe they've been lazy at the beginning, but very soon they have to be labelled idiotic for the continuance of lazy behavior.


If not taking out the trash but rather depositing your trash on top of a already overflowing bin regularly results in smelly trash cans/bags being disposed of in your room, you are an idiot for continuing this practice.

If washing the dishes in a way that lets everyone know from the 'clean' dishes what you ate regularly results in said dishes being placed on your bed with little post-its telling you how to clean them again, you're an idiot for not doing them right in the first place continuously.

If regularly failing to use the loo brush regularly results in embarrassing notices being put up on the public notice board in the house informing everyone and their dog of today's quality of your bowel movements, you sure are an idiot for not starting to use said brush.

Etc..
Cameroi
19-07-2008, 13:48
Well, and if I were in road design, I'd probably not have this much time to post annoyed rants on NSG, so... maybe road design people live in their own little bubble where people are smart little fellows at all times?

no, if they were really smart there wouldn't be any roads other then bike trails, car parks would be japanese gardens instead, and there'd be little people sized trains going everywhere.

everything has its price. the origeonal plaint is the price of people wanting to live with and impress each other, more then they want a world they can actually enjoy and be gratified by.

i totally aggree though, that the price is exorbitant.

=^^=
.../\...