SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
It may sound like an insensitive statement, but the cold hard truth is that there are a lot of stupid people in the world, and their stupidity presents a constant danger to others. Some of these people are in positions of power, and some of them have been elected to run our country. A far greater number of them do not have positions of power, but they still have the power to vote, and the power to spread their ideas. We may have heard of "collective intelligence," but there is also "collective stupidity," and it is a force with equal influence on the world. It would not be a stretch to say that at this point in time, stupidity presents an existential threat to America because, in some circles, it is being celebrated.
Although the term "stupidity" may seem derogatory or insulting, it is actually a scientific concept that refers to a specific type of cognitive failure. It is important to realize that stupidity is not simply a lack of intelligence or knowledge, but rather a failure to use one's cognitive abilities effectively. This means that you can be "smart" while having a low IQ, or no expertise in anything. It is often said that "you can't fix stupid," but that is not exactly true. By becoming aware of the limitations of our natural intelligence or our ignorance, we can adjust our reasoning, behavior, and decision-making to account for our intellectual shortcomings.
To demonstrate that stupidity does not mean having a low IQ, consider the case of Richard Branson, the billionaire CEO of Virgin Airlines, who is one of the world's most successful businessmen. Branson has said that he was seen as the dumbest person in school, and has admitted to having dyslexia, a learning disability that affects one's ability to read and correctly interpret written language. But it wasn't just reading comprehension that was the problem — "Math just didn't make sense to me," Branson has said. "I would certainly have failed an IQ test."
[...] We are all victims of the Dunning-Kruger effect to some degree. An inability to accurately assess our own competency and wisdom is something we see in both liberals and conservatives. While being more educated typically decreases our Dunning-Kruger tendencies, it does not eliminate them entirely. That takes constant cognitive effort in the form of self-awareness, continual curiosity, and a healthy amount of skepticism. By cultivating this type of awareness in ourselves, and making an effort to spread it to others, we can fight back against the stupidity crisis that threatens our nation.
Interesting stuff from cognitive neuroscientist
(Score: 5, Insightful) by khallow on Saturday February 25, @06:29AM (3 children)
I'm pretty sure there's a lot of the world with this aspect of "US culture".
Let's give a dated example of how this can happen: tobacco companies funding smart and knowledgeable experts to tell us that smoking doesn't cause significant health problems. A big part of the negativity comes from a huge devaluing of smart and knowledgeable expert opinion over the past century by such mercenary tactics. And it comes from everywhere. You can find experts to give any spin you'd like on something through a combination of politics, greed, and ideology. And then media puts their own spin on it to sex it up. I guess we live in an era where there's a lot of exposure to the failings of social signals of intelligence and knowledge.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Opportunist on Saturday February 25, @04:10PM
A pretty good analysis, but hardly limited to tobacco. We've had a load of "experts" being paraded out by corporations to tell us that anything they do is good for us, and time and time again we have later learned that, nope, we've been lied to.
What kind of reaction do you expect?
And since these people also never learned how to verify what they're told, all they can do is turn to someone else to believe blindly.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 26, @07:48AM (1 child)
I'm pretty sure there's a lot of the world with less than 100 IQs. Hooah! USA! Not the worst yet!
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday February 26, @10:01PM