The five universal laws of human stupidity.

[tServo]

We underestimate the stupid, and we do so at our peril.


https://qz.com/967554/the-five-unive...man-stupidity/

[retina]

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/progr...niquely-stupid

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt says he knows why the last 10 years in America have been "uniquely stupid".

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Haidt is laying the blame squarely on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. In a recent essay in The Atlantic, Haidt wrote that it was not Americans who were getting stupid as individuals; rather it's USA's groups and institutions.

Haidt, who is Professor of Ethical Leadership at NYU-Stern, argues that social media is allowing people to intimidate others and make them afraid of public consequences for anything they say. And that makes groups and institutions structurally stupid, because people have stopped dissenting, questioning and challenging.

Professor Haidt joins the show to discuss the essay and how the world has changed for the worse due to the internet.

[kriesel]

Also the theme of "Idiocracy": the stupid are outbreeding the smart, and government policy is to force the smart to support the stupid, worsening the problem, and selecting stupid destructive policy. "Third Rock" touched on the problem in an episode of votes counting equally independent of intelligence or understanding.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by kriesel

Also the theme of "Idiocracy": the stupid are outbreeding the smart, and government policy is to force the smart to support the stupid, worsening the problem, and selecting stupid destructive policy. "Third Rock" touched on the problem in an episode of votes counting equally independent of intelligence or understanding.

The SF novelette The Little Black Bag by Cyril Kornbluth (first published in the July 1950 Astounding Science Fiction, republished in, e.g. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame (Volume 1) is a predecessor to his novella The Marching Morons, first published in the April 1951 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction, and republished in, e.g. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame (Volume II A).

The Little Black Bag was adapted for TV in an episode of Night Gallery. The principal characters in the story were a former physician who had lost his license after becoming a drunkard, and a young woman who became his business partner. In the TV adaptation, Burgess Meredith played the role of the disgraced physician, and the business partner's character was changed to being his drinking buddy. Chill Wills played that part.

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by kriesel

Also the theme of "Idiocracy": the stupid are outbreeding the smart, and government policy is to force the smart to support the stupid, worsening the problem, and selecting stupid destructive policy. "Third Rock" touched on the problem in an episode of votes counting equally independent of intelligence or understanding.

Before the war in Ukraine started, I watched little TV. When I did, it was something on a streaming platform which was commercial-free. Afterward, it was MSNBC. Doing so was sitting through mindless commercials. I started noticing the comprehension level required to understand them. It is quite low. These things would be ran in blocks of four minutes. The next block would contain some of the same material as the previous. I find it very tiring to go through that over and over. There are just too many, too often.

As for Facebook, I have an account, but only for keep up with friends and relatives who chose to use it. As for the rest, the level of illiteracy baffles me. I see very poor grammar, run-on sentences with no punctuation or capitalization. Spelling is horrendous. Their simple math skills are unbelievable. 2 + 2 = 5. How does anyone with any sense believe that? Every once in a while, an individual will put up a simple math problem and ask for answers. Example: 5 + 5 * (2 * 0) + 4 + 4. The responses are all over the place. They have no comprehension of parenthetical meaning or order of operation. An analog clock sails over their heads. Those people are given high school diplomas. The level of education in schools is tanking badly. It all just baffles me completely.

[kriesel]

Indeed. I often see expressions such as "all are not" (meaning zero are) when context makes clear that what was intended was "not all are" (meaning somewhat less than 100% are). Even online guides about this phrase mostly get it wrong. https://getitwriteonline.com/the-dif...d-all-are-not/ vs. https://ell.stackexchange.com/questi...vs-not-all-are

For folks likely to find hanging out in a number theory computing forum more interesting than a tavern or fishing, an IQ of 100 ("average" for some population, IIRC European / North American) can seem astoundingly dull, approaching disability levels. And the world needs to be designed for the middle of the bell curve +- 2+ std dev. I've long had the impression it is not designed for us.

I wonder sometimes what life feels like for the rare few that advance number theory or provide the top programming implementations of it.

[mart_r]

Originally Posted by storm5510

Doing so was sitting through mindless commercials.

That's why the remote control is my best friend when watching TV.

[kriesel]

Originally Posted by mart_r

That's why the remote control is my best friend

Unfortunately in some markets the ads are synchronized among channels. That's what remote mute and a laptop or junk mail disposal are for.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by kriesel

For folks likely to find hanging out in a number theory computing forum more interesting than a tavern or fishing, an IQ of 100 ("average" for some population, IIRC European / North American) can seem astoundingly dull, approaching disability levels. And the world needs to be designed for the middle of the bell curve +- 2+ std dev. I've long had the impression it is not designed for us.

I wonder sometimes what life feels like for the rare few that advance number theory or provide the top programming implementations of it.

Have you come across the neologism "wamb"?

If not, a search engine will find it for you and provide you with an exercise in sorting out the gem from the dross.

[ldesnogu]

Originally Posted by kriesel

Unfortunately in some markets the ads are synchronized among channels. That's what remote mute and a laptop or junk mail disposal are for.

That definitely is the case in France. My solution is to never watch live, I record shows I’m interested in.

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by kriesel

...I wonder sometimes what life feels like for the rare few that advance number theory or provide the top programming implementations of it.

I would say very isolating or having a small circle of friends.

I am in the autism spectrum. For me, this means binary thinking. Something is, or it is not. Anything in the "gray" area between is far more difficult, if not impossible. Several here have suggested that I get a book about number theory. The thing is, I do not know if I could understand it.

The flip side of the coin is programming. It follows a logical order and easy to grasp. I have done a lot of programming over recent decades. All the languages I know are antique now. Several years ago, I taught myself a little Perl, but I did not get into it very far. Just the basics, more or less. I did not stay with it though. To retain a skill like that, it must be practiced. I did not.

I joined the GIMPS project in 2005 and this forum in 2009. I have muddled through ever since. I really enjoy running the programs. This is all that really matters to me.