People

This may sound condescending but are the vast majority of people actually stupid? even those that do well academically? I'm going by interactions i've had with normal people from different backgrounds and silent observations, they never think outside the box or look at the bigger picture, prefer to conform and do what they're told from the moment they go to school. There are those with major academic education and well paid positions who look down upon others and are baffled when someone with no real educational background succeeded in something. What do these people do in their free time? create something of value? no, they consume social media and other forms of corporate entertainment. I don't think of myself as superior btw, i'm actually pretty dumb myself but i've always had this "awareness" that most people lacked, maybe its my ADHD, I don't know. pic unrelated

>>74068 I'm pretty sure that most poeple just do stuff "by the book". Why that exactly is, I don't know, but I know exactly what you are getting at. I had one theory which I can't really prove or disprove, it's just something that popped in my head, and that is that modern society just really likes conformism as it's easy to control stuff that way. Lot of instruments that make modern life depend on things being precise and measurable. Time before the invention of clock was something you vaguely felt. You looked up the sky to see where the sun is and you knew more or less how much till nightfall. On other hand, after the clock, people's life depend on very strict schedules and tons of planning to comform to the work people have. After centuries of that I feel like you kinda push creativity out of people. And the clock is just one example of that. Most of modernist thought depends on boxing things in a certain way for optimizing. School kinda is an invention like that too. I really find it hard to believe most people learn a lot at school. I am no expert, but having an environment for young people which usually disregards experimentation or any control over your learning, while also trying to put all the attention of one person giving some kind of lecture seems to send the message "trust whatever the person with authority says". Well, there are "experiments" at school. I remember few times where we had to do something in class. What is meant by that is that you get a page of paper saying what you should do step by step, then you do the experiment, and write something down. Which to me always seemed to do the same job as watching a video, just more expensive. I would understand if they asked you to think for yourself, but you really just get a step by step paper on what to do. All of this kinda gives me this weird feeling of living amongs domesticated people. I don't remember exactly from where it was from, but I get reminded about some writing from what I remember to be roman times about wild cattle. Describing them as strong and unpredictable beasts living in the forest. Nowdays you don't really see that. It's not like cattle is hard to find, but it always is in this sad locked up way on some farm. Barely having place to move and being seperated from everything else. Raised and selected for dairy and meat consumption. That's kinda how I see lot of modern people too. Just instead of milk and meat they are being bred to either be a factory worker or a yes-man technocrat working an office job.

>>74068 Yes, the mass majority of people are stupid. Congrats on understanding that you are probably one of those people, few people are willing to admit that, even anonymously due to their little ego problem. Now lets point at some of your examples so I can explain them to you. >they never think outside the box or look at the bigger picture They *passively* (I want to REALLY emphasis the word "PASSIVE" here. There is no active attempts being made in any of these things) have decided that there is no benefit to this. There is only a benefit of implying that you do. So, this is what people do. The moment that I started explaining nuance and such, unless it aligns with their worldview, I will be referred to various shutdown responses. Falling in line is the best way to progress in the world. Thankfully, there are some things you can do to rebel that the system allows you to rebel against, while still staying comfortable and not having to think too hard. I could elaborate further with more examples, but people will think I'm trying to talk about politics. I'm not, it's just the easiest way to get curious people to understand. >prefer to conform and do what they're told from the moment they go to school This is, again referring to the above paragraph, because it is much easier to succeed if you just fall in line. >major academic education and well paid positions who look down upon others Everyone has been pretty much trained to think about capitalist hierarchy in this way. If I have a "Dr." in front of my name, as long as I'm still falling in line, I am the most respected person. If I'm making a soykaf ton of money, well, all of my social posturing is even more believable because "why would they need to" -- Once again, most of this is passively done by the average person. >and are baffled when someone with no real educational background succeeded in something. The upper echelon of society isn't really baffled. They think it's cute and they can usually utilize it for social benefit to praise that individual, while using the entire thing to keep people placated because they get a good feeling in seeing others succeed. >creating something of value There's no benefit to this, because as far as they are concerned: They made it. Now that's the passive, here is the active reason "I worked so hard, I should relax." and "Well, I have the money, so why not?"

>>74068 I think this has something to do with intelligence, but is also kind of separate from it. Awareness of the bigger picture, ability/desire to act beyond just going along with the ideas and behaviors you are told to have, dumb people can have that too. It's just more dangerous for them because they can't navigate the world on their own judgment as well, that soykaf is complicated and the world is trying to kill you. Following the herd is safer and easier.

>>74068 Foucault explained this pretty well. Throughout their lives people pass through institutions (schools, clinics, workplaces, prisons etc) where they are subjected to surveillance and pressured into conforming with the values of that institution and accepting it's regime of truth, the package of information and ideas that are held up as real and true. The result are people who are disciplined and machine like, they have had rebellion bred out of them and fall back on institutional textbook knowledge. They live their lives trying to appease a standard of "normal" bred into them from birth and actually aspire to it and take pleasure in showing off how normal and loyal they are. If your an outsider to this system, then they all seem stupid. It's obvious that their just drilled into being and thinking a certain way and defer to authority. The real question is why doesn't this work 100% of the time? Why are there people who refuse to play along or are conscious of what's really happening? If everyone is more or less brainwashed why are there people who still rebel and pull away from the system? >Most of modernist thought depends on boxing things in a certain way for optimizing. This. It's something very dangerous. If you reduce all life down to statistics and measure it's worth by how valuable it is for you, then what's wrong with genociding people or nuking two cities just to get a favorable diplomatic settlement? Humans just become stuff for powerful people to play with.

>>74070 >The upper echelon of society isn't really baffled. The upper echelon isn't any more aware than anyone else. If anything they're less aware: more of them got where they were by playing the game very well, so they've stopped thinking outside the game's rules.

>>74088 >isn't any more aware than anyone else. Lainon... I explicitly stated that. You're not disagreeing with me a all, you just misunderstood me. In fact, in the previous three lines, and in the next line, I explicitly pointed at how this "upper echelon" is on the same level as everyone else, if not worse for the very fact that "falling in line = win". Granted, you don't always "win", but we have little checks for that to help prevent people from getting too upset about it where they'll do anything. >>74068 On a side note, OP, it is absolutely an absolute chore to interact with the people you are referring to. Yes, that was a dig at the person I just responded to, but sometimes a stick works better than a carrot to help people pay better attention. Interestingly enough, that's even a mechanic in the subject matter you are asking about.