stupid people

[Wendell Edwards 73]

The topic interests me, too. I suspect that because of the increasing sophistication of the media and the easy access that we now all have to the technology of the internet we simply get to meet a much broader range of people amd view a much broader range of activities than we did before.

In our real lives our interpersonal contacts are largely edited: that is to say, you will likely know people who do the same kind of work as you do, go to your church (if you do go to one), have graduated from the same schools, and who live in your neighbourhood. They are likely to have similar interests and concerns and have achieved a similar level of education. They will thus appear to be fairly intelligent and fairly sane. (Except, possibly, the in-laws!)

But now, thanks to the unedited free-for-all which is the internet, we are exposed to the vast range of human personalities and interests and, yup, we will be left with the sense that there really are a lot of whackos and idiots out there, many more than you can recall from pre-internet times.

Actually, one of the reasons why I am so fond of the internet is that it leaves me feeling much more intelligent and much more sane than I usually feel. Talk about yer instant ego boost, eh. Haha. :rose: :ranger:

I agree.

The internet has made us aware of some types of people who were quietly there all along, the lunatic fringe.

A perfect example would be the followers of a certain person on another message board who was exposed as a fraud this week. Rather than accept the reality that they were duped by this con-artist, they continue to defend and back her.

That is definite proof that the lunatic fringe does exist.

[DerickM 1]

I am one of the few people I know that watched the movie Idoracy (sp?) and saw it as more of a warning than a comedy.

[green 6]

Yep, I saw that movie. It is in the way of a warning, isn't it?

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I think a lot of the problem has to do with technology but with a different twist.

We really don't have to think anymore. We have others that are assigned to do our thinking for us. Or technology thinks for us.

Okay, I can't spell worth a damn, never have been able to do it. I can do complicated algebra equations in my head but I struggle to spell little words. I don't have to learn to spell, I can use spell checker.

Ask a kid how to do an algebra problem and he HAS to pull out his calculator. He can't do it on paper but he can do it with technology.

Our employers are telling us what to do and how to behave 40+ hours a week, our religious leaders are telling us who to vote for and half the time, people don't even realize that. Political leaders create laws for us to follow because we can't behave on our own, hair dryer manufacturers have to put warnings on their product not to use it in a shower. Heck, even Mickey D's has to tell you not to put hot coffee between your legs because people are so damn stupid they'll do it. They even do it WITH the warnings.

We SHOULD be taking advantage of technology and increasing our knowledge and instead we depend on it to do our thinking. It's spooky.

[DerickM 1]

WASa you HAVE to watch this music video, I immediately thought of the chorus when I was reading your last post.

[ame=http://youtube.com/watch?v=GtytnTs5z7A]YouTube - Bad Religion - 21st Century Digital Boy[/ame]

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

WASa you HAVE to watch this music video, I immediately thought of the chorus when I was reading your last post.

YouTube - Bad Religion - 21st Century Digital Boy

I'm on the wrong computer to do that. I'll try to switch tonight.

[utahband 0]

are you in utah?