Stupid People

I have no patience for them

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

This Super Bowl weekend I made the mistake of interacting with some sports fans on X (Twitter). What is it that Forrest Gump says, “stupid is as stupid does.” My wife recently pointed out to me that to a certain extent, Gump’s mental challenges worked for him in life, his limited mental capacity made him fearless in life. He wasn’t intimidated out of trying new things, to take chances. I understand that Gump is a movie character, and in reality, his character is not very realistic. He seems to be acutely aware of how limited his mental abilities are, yet he still challenges himself to the best of his abilities, while remaining endearing to everyone around him.

In using the word “stupid”, I’m not using this as an insult, or to describe someone who is mentally challenged, but rather as a description of people who simply aren’t very smart. I don’t know a better word to use, and I hope it doesn’t insult or offend anyone.

As I have come to understand through interactions with people in the real world, if you consider social media the real world, most stupid people overestimate their ability to reason. Someone in the comments section of my TruthSocial account pointed out a study to me that validates my thoughts. (If the person who sent me the study wants to be acknowledged and is reading this, please introduce yourself in this comment section. I don’t want to “out” anyone of anything by mentioning a name.)

The study basically said that people who tested in the 12th percentile, meaning that 88% of people tested higher than them, estimated their test scores to be in the 62nd percentile, estimating that only 38% would test higher than them. This is quite the discrepancy, 50 points. In this case at least, stupid people seem to believe they are smarter than they really are, by a lot. They kind of see themselves in the middle of the pack, above average in fact, when in fact they are nowhere close to being average in intelligence.

What I’m about to say I hope isn’t accepted as black pilling, but we need to be cautious of the perceived change in Americans the past several months with the election of Trump as POTUS. From a glass half full perspective we can see it as people finally waking up. But in reality, people tend to just go whatever direction the tide takes them, especially unintelligent people.

Watching the Super Bowl, there was a shot of Taylor Swift on the jumbo screen in the stadium and the crowd promptly started booing. She was taken aback by it. Is this a case of people waking up? Is it a matter of people being sick of her being pushed on them so hard? Or is it a case of simply going with the flow? With Trump’s victory, are they simply shifting their support to the person they now perceive to be in power, in the majority.

Rarely does a stupid person choose to stand out on their own, they tend to gravitate towards what group or group’s belief they perceive as being in the majority. Studies show people too often agree with the majority, even when what they are agreeing with is ridiculous in nature. Afraid to stand alone in their beliefs if it is perceived to be in the minority, especially when it is an extreme minority.

There’s an expression, “fair weather fan”, this refers to sports fans who jump on board supporting a team when they are doing good and jump off as soon as they start to struggle. They would be the ones burning their Chief’s jerseys today, following their embarrassing defeat in the Super Bowl.

What I learned in interacting with sports fans this weekend on X (Twitter) is that many people believe they are smarter than they really are. In my opinion, a smart person seeks out information, all information, then makes an opinion based on that collective information. They listen. Stupid people seem to only seek out information that validates their already existing beliefs and ignore anything that refutes it. They view disagreement as being a personal attack and respond accordingly.

Not only this, but they try to bully others into submitting to their point of view. If one politely disagrees with them and states facts to support their disagreement, stupid people tend to react by immediately calling them names, expressing disbelief that anyone could be so stupid or ignorant.

Stupid people’s logic or ability to reason is weak, so too often they immediately attack. They try to insult one into submission. Once one realizes the argument is pointless and stops interacting with them, they proudly claim victory. Stating you have stopped arguing because you understand that you are wrong, and they are right.

In reality, people like Forrest Gump don’t really exist today. People who are keenly aware of their lack of intellect. People who can listen to someone politely disagree with them without taking it as a personal insult. People who look for all information, information that supports and disputes their positions and opinions. People who actually listen, who seek to challenge themselves.

Unless people can more accurately assess their reasoning skills, can disagree without insulting the person who disagrees, can stand out on a limb by themselves when they know they are right, or acknowledge when they are wrong, society will remain a difficult place to function.

I don’t have any answers, just the observation that we can’t function this way. Hopefully it’s not a permanent thing. Hopefully it’s something that will wear off in time. But we can’t necessarily believe that this will be the case, or that it will occur that quickly. As sad as it may be, some may be permanently broken.

I’ve discovered that Trump’s victory doesn’t mean the majority of Americans are now awake, able to reason logically. I dipped my toe into the water and found that it is still too cold to swim. Maybe someday I will be able to jump in and swim around in this larger body of water. But that time isn’t now. At least not yet. We still may have a long way to go.

It makes me think of Groundhog Day. Hopefully it just means we have another six weeks of Winter to get through, and not a day that will loop itself over and over for eternity.