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Originally posted by Another10Pin
I hated to parse your post and edit it to this single line, as it was an excellent post. But that statement of yours ... this is the true focus of the entire thread of conversation, is it not?
What I have witnessed in my lifetime, and what I believe your statement implies, is this ... there is a portion of the population that exhibits poor judgement and decision making capacity ... an inability to reason using logic or even exhibit some basic level of creativity.
There are many causes ... substance use and/or abuse ... physical, emotional, or psychological trauma ... lack of instruction in the public school systems related to logical argument ... peer pressure related to labeling ... rote memorization as a single tool for learning ... poor instruction or ability for associative thinking ... destruction of programs that cultivate creativity ... dumbing down our educational system and media to the lowest common denominator ... conservative cultural indoctrination or bias ... a culture that glorifies and rewards predatory behavior ... the list goes on.
But my point is this, the effect of those causes is, again, what I believe you imply by your statement. That either through genetic and/or congenital anomalies, parenting and/or other environmental factors, we are faced with a population of persons who are suffering from some degree of damage, educational failure, or developmental issue related to the prefrontal cortex.
That part of the brain controls those judgements of the human, and when we see that judgement exhibited in behavior, we develop words such as 'idiot' or 'brilliant'.
I can't remember who made the statement, "The forefather of every act is a thought", but it is true. Ergo, if the process by which forming a thought has been damaged or impaired ...
Well, that's my elaboration upon your statement.
Judge not, lest ye be judged. Muhahaha
Incompetent People Too Ignorant to Know It
Originally posted by RSF77
I don't think its so much that people are so stupid they don't know they are stupid, though that's pretty funny all the same. I think it's more in line with the idea that people try to change reality in their mind to suit their interests, much in the same manner that someone would realize they screwed something up then quickly try to find blame in someone else.
I would guess it's a survival mechanism. The wolf that worries about the rabbits suffering dies of starvation later on or never gets strong enough to mate, while the wolf that justifies eating the rabbit or is careless about it goes on to become the alpha male. I would imagine after evolving for 50,000 years if the wolf's offspring became intelligent the subtle trait would still exist and carry over on to other mental processes.
While not a perfect analogy I hope this makes the point, people might just be predisposed to justify almost anything if it serves their interest. Now we have complex things like entitlement and mental competition and such, the brain still thinks it's fighting to survive in the wilderness and that its interests should be met, even if they are trivial or material in reality.edit on 28-2-2012 by RSF77 because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by MajorKarma
reply to post by intrptr
That was only in the movie "Dummy".
Originally posted by lacrimosa
so, stupid people dont realize theyre stupid.no # sherlock.
and the stupidest thing is some university probably got ridiculous funding to figure this out.
People Aren't Smart Enough for Democracy to Flourish, Scientists Say
The democratic process relies on the assumption that citizens (the majority of them, at least) can recognize the best political candidate, or best policy idea, when they see it. But a growing body of research has revealed an unfortunate aspect of the human psyche that would seem to disprove this notion, and imply instead that democratic elections produce mediocre leadership and policies.
The research, led by David Dunning, a psychologist at Cornell University, shows that incompetent people are inherently unable to judge the competence of other people, or the quality of those people's ideas. For example, if people lack expertise on tax reform, it is very difficult for them to identify the candidates who are actual experts. They simply lack the mental tools needed to make meaningful judgments.
As a result, no amount of information or facts about political candidates can override the inherent inability of many voters to accurately evaluate them. On top of that, "very smart ideas are going to be hard for people to adopt, because most people don’t have the sophistication to recognize how good an idea is," Dunning told Life's Little Mysteries.
There is, in fact, a multitude of conspiracies active in our world today, ranging in scale and time span. Those at the core of these conspiracies are people whom we have never heard of and will never see. These individuals occupy top positions in government, religion, and economics--all of which are members of secret societies. Members of these groups who are displayed to the public as political and religious leaders are no more than actors paid by the System to lie about wanting to protect and help you. They care nothing about you or your family. Government and religion have been the leading causes of death among humans throughout history.
Areas of occult knowledge such as sacred geometry, divination arts, black magick, astrology, and mind control are being utilized by these organizations to deceive, manipulate, control, and kill the populations of the world. With piety aimed at dark and evil entities and energies they use their reservoirs of power, wealth, and influence to assiduously carry out their various agendas, in some cases thousands of years old.
Compartmentalization and fear keep members of secret societies ignorant of and loyal to their true purposes and plots. The 'Pyramid Structure' of power allows members to become completely compartmentalized; in other words, knowing only what they need to do and not knowing what everyone else is doing. The higher up the pyramid you are the more you know about the organization as a whole. Furthermore, tactics such as honeytraps and bribery are used to blackmail and intimidate members, forcing them to remain fearful of defecting and exposing the truth.