Is the general population getting smarter... or less smart?

Simple enough question, right? I think as civilization progresses it's expected that the masses would increase their intelligence as well.....only makes sense, right? But I think I'm concluding that while the smartest people continue to get smarter, the rest of the world is actually getting less smart. Here's my case in point.

Normally I try very hard to not be in public during normal times of the day. I do my shopping late at night, about 20 minutes before the store closes, as there's very few people in the stores at that time. That's because when I do go out during the day I continually run into stupid people everywhere I go. It never fails. Like today I'm zipping down the two-lane country road, one lane in each direction, and a guy waiting to pull out at a cross street about 500 feet in front of me decides to pull out right in front of me, rather than wait for me to pass. He can clearly see from where he's entering the roadway that there's no one behind me for miles, and that I'm zipping along at a pretty good pace. So does he wait the 2 seconds it will take for me to pass him by and then pull out........nope. He pulls out right in front of me.........and I slam on the brakes and just barely stopped before rear-ending his ass. Now you might say.........well, he thought he had enough space to pull out and really got on the gas once he did, to minimize how much I'd have to slow down. Nope again. This bonehead not only cuts my ass off, but then drives at a nice leisurely pace of 30 mph in a 45mph zone..............all the way with my pissed off ass behind him. But wait, there's more. At some point up the road I guess he got confused as to where he was. So rather than pull over and ponder it..........he comes to a complete stop in the middle of the road, and then turns his car toward the shoulder. Doesn't actually pull into the shoulder, just points the front of his car in that direction. If Maryland had an open carry law I'd be in jail right now for manslaughter. So I go around his sorry ass and he looks at me like he's confused with my obviously angry facial expression. And this crap happens everywhere I go. But the reason I ask the question is because of the next stupid person I ran into.......about an hour after idiot #1.

So I'm on my way back from the feed store, and decide to hit the local supermarket for a nice hot rotisserie chicken for dinner. I walk out of the store with my shopping cart full of stuff.......cuz I never seem to be able to go into a store and buy just one thing, and I'm starting to load my groceries into the back of my SUV. And I notice the gal parked next to me has her liftgate open and is doing the same thing. What caught my eye was that she also bought a rotisserie chicken, and had removed it from her shopping bag and had it sitting in her car where she was loading in her groceries. I was just about to say something like......."they are good chickens, aren't they" when she pulls a box of ice cream sandwiches out of another bag of groceries and puts it next to the rotisserie chicken. For some reason I decided to just shut up and go about my business, but as I was loading my groceries into my car I kept looking at what she was doing. And what she did was pull out one of those collapsible insulated thermal bags that we all keep in our cars to keep stuff hot or cold until we get home. But she put BOTH the hot rotisserie chicken......and the cold ice cream sandwiches in the same thermal bag (and not in separate compartments, together in the bag). At that point I decided to interject, as I was totally confused. So I said rather nicely...........ma'am, you really can't do that. And she said "what?". I said, put something hot and something cold in the same insulated bag. And she looked at me like I was a fellow idiot and said..........and I'm not making this up..............it really just happened about 20 minutes ago..............she said.........."oh, of course you can...........it said right on the package the bag came in that it keeps hot things hot and cold things cold". So I picked my jaw up off the ground, reattached it to my face and said............ma'am...........it certainly can do those things..........but not at the same time!!! She just laughed, zipped the bag shut.........and we both went on our merry ways.

My rotisserie chicken was nice and hot when I got home, and the ice cream that I also bought was still frozen (I keep 2 insulated bags in my car). I wonder how hers were? And these people are EVERYWHERE. Remember this all happened in the same day in about an hour's timespan. I was tempted to then go to Walmart and really witness some fun, but was getting pretty hungry.

So is it me, or is our civilization heading back to living in caves and eating with our hands and feet? Someone tell me it's all in my imagination. Please. I'll wait.

;0)
Bob

I won't use as many words as you, but in general....more technically smart, but a lot of the younger people can't figure out how to get out of a wet paper sack. &zwj

Well, considering that civilization includes 7.9 billion people, it might be a bit of a stretch to make such a broad claim based on 2 people...just saying..

I hear ya, nal, but it's not just 2 people. It's 2 people out of 4, or out of 6. I'm 57, and can distinctly remember a time when "stupid" was rare, not the majority. I just saw an ad for 2 chainsaws a guy was selling online. His price was $100 each or both for $300. Need I say more?

;0)

They walk among us!

Dumb as a box of rocks.
TRUE STORY:

A noted psychiatrist was a guest speaker at an academic function where Nancy Pelosi happened to appear. Ms. Pelosi took the opportunity to schmooze the good doctor a bit and asked him a question with which he was most at ease.

‘Would you mind telling me, Doctor,' she asked, 'how you detect a mental deficiency in somebody who appears completely normal?'

‘Nothing is easier,' he replied. 'You ask a simple question which anyone should answer with no trouble. If the person hesitates, that puts you on the track..'

‘What sort of question?' asked Pelosi.

Well, you might ask, 'Captain Cook made three trips around the world and died during one of them. Which one?"

Pelosi thought a moment, and then said with a nervous laugh, 'You wouldn't happen to have another example, would you? I must confess I don't know much about history.'

Sadly, they walk among us!

Traffic Camera

A man was driving when he saw the flash of a traffic camera. He figured that his picture had been taken for exceeding the limit, even though he knew that he was not speeding... Just to be sure, he went around the block and passed the same spot, driving even more slowly, but again the camera flashed. Now he began to think that this was quite funny, so he drove even slower as he passed the area again, but the traffic camera again flashed. He tried a fourth time with the same result. He did this a fifth time and was now laughing when the camera flashed as he rolled past, this time at a snail's pace... Two weeks later, he got five tickets in the mail for driving without a seat belt.

You can't fix stupid.

Yeah, but when I explained why I kept circling the block, the judge waived all but one of those 5 tickets. I told him I just really like getting my picture taken!

:0)

Bob

My buddy got a speeding ticket by one of those cameras. However, his truck was licensed under his wife's name so the ticket came to her and counted on her driver's license.

Hi Bob

I have no doubt many people are getting more and more stupid day by day, I see it constantly. Social media and reality TV are two of the greatest culprits for dumbing people down.

Bob, it's definitely not you! Not only is common sense uncommon these days, but thinking in general seems to be a lost art with some people.

A major problem is too many chiefs! That wouldn't be all bad if they could get on the same page, but they're too greedy to do that. What they do agree on is passing legislation that keeps them wealthy and makes them wealthier. To hell with how the policies they support (buy) affect the rest of the population. Wealthy people have way too much influence. Wealth doesn't mean they're smart, especially since most wealthy people today inherited it. They didn't do anything to earn it.

People are not learning how to think and solve problems. We're walking around like zombies who can't fight our way out of a paper bag. Because if you do figure out a way, there's a policy that's going to stop you. So we go along to get along while those in control pull us this way and that.

When did it become normal for kids to graduate from high school and can't read and comprehend what they're reading and can't do basic math? Not taught to think! Policies are making us stupid!

I'm ranting! Lol

E I

Hello Bob.

I can certainly understand your frustration with some of the seemingly unnecessary behaviour of a seemingly increasing number of people. However, I feel the need to be somewhat grateful to these people for providing me with more and more material for my rhymes. I wrote one some time ago entitled RIP -common sense, which I think I have shared before, but will do so again because there may now be some who missed it first time round. However, your post has motivated me to update my thoughts on this subject so, I am also taking the opportunity to share where I feel some of the origins of lack of common-sense and sensible, logical thinking may emanate.

This may sound like a conspiracy theory, which, in some ways it is. However, for those who are willing to think for themselves and outside of the prescibed 'box', then the idea that 'certain' cliques/ruling classes/ bullies, want to tell us all how to think and what to do, perhaps becomes a plausible explanation for why gullible people appear to be becoming more and more unable to adequately think for themselves.

Best wishes

And enjoy the rhymes!

RIP-COMMON SENSE.

As I accumulate the years,
I swell with melancholic tears.
I’ll tell you why I mourn today,
‘cos common sense has passed away.

Common sense was a willing friend,
but modern trends have caused its end.
Its’ death a tragic sight to see,
drowned in the great bureaucracy.

How did we get so out of touch,
when common sense taught us so much?
Let’s ponder on the lessons learned,
before our common sense got burned.

It taught us to avoid most pain,
and come in from the pouring rain.
It told us life was rarely fair,
and yet it taught us still to care.

Common sense lived by simple rules,
tolerate not the rules of fools.
A stitch in time will save you nine,
maybe some faults are sometimes mine.

While unwise men will money burn,
the wise won’t spend more than they earn.
Much money may your spirits raise,
but have some saved for rainy days.

When common sense goes in decline,
the world gets ruled by Philistines.
Clots and idiots rule the land,
no wonder things are out of hand.

Without more sense, what is in store,
Kids can’t play conkers anymore.
People go to court nowadays,
for suing is the thing that pays.

Burglars sue for common assault,
as if their crime was not their fault.
It must be you, it can’t be me,
who takes responsibility?

With common sense came truth and trust,
morality was more robust.
These things now feel like they’re treason,
in this world without much reason.

Now common sense is dead and gone,
darkness shades where light once shone.
Now life’s full of risk you see,
where once was opportunity.

Correctness gets quite idiotic,
when it depends on politics.
And it has always been the same,
they will find someone else to Blame.

I mourn the death of common sense,
I feel there is no recompense.
Common sense would give me hope,
now all that’s left’s a horror-scope.

                                 B. Withers 2011

     (In: My Colourful Rag-Tag Bag 2011)

BRAINWASHING THE GULLIBLE.

Think about the way folks think,
and you might see there is a link
between bullies who control us
and them not wanting us to fuss.

These systems stem from days of old
when people did as they were told,
or they were punished for the crime
of daring to step out of line.

It’s only bullies think they ought
to have rights to freedom of thought,
so, they’ve arranged society
to prop up this impropriety.

The bullies want to run the show,
so, tell you what to think and know,
‘till you don’t know to think things out
or know what life is all about.

From the cradle to the grave,
this has been how bullies behave,
and when they are in politics
this manifests in their antics.

They make the rules and make the law
to keep control over the poor,
and tell them what they should believe,
for this is how they can deceive.

Throughout the school curriculum,
they wish to swing the pendulum
of bias and predisposition
to their own view and position.

They don’t want children in the habit
of thinking for themselves a bit,
because if that were more widespread
they’d suss deceit in what was said.

                                             (continued ->)

BRAINWASHING THE GULLIBLE. (->continued)

These bullies want us all to do
exactly what they want us to,
for, independent thinking can
undermine their cunning plan.

If most of the population
in a so-called advanced nation
cannot think or fathom out
what these bullies are about.

Then, as these systems are unfurled
it’s bullies who will rule the world,
if anything gets in their way
they’ll make sure it’s us that pay.

Which is a concept they know well,
for, as far as I can tell
if people don’t think for themselves
they’ll blindly buy from off their shelves.

If people put a bit of thought
into the rubbish that they’ve bought,
the chances are they’d stop mid-flight
because their purchases aren’t right.

Such thinking would eventually
undermine the economy,
and all those rich bullies would then
be on a rant to us condemn.

They don’t want folks to think too hard
if it affects their own back yard,
they want them to stay ignorant,
gullible and deferent.

So they can take them for a ride,
whilst their deceitful plans they hide,
and hope we won’t revolt someday
to take their privilege away.

                                               B. Withers 2021

"There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life."   Frank Zappa

Hi all, years ago I was a punch press operator punching holes in sheet metal and it wasn't uncommon when starting a run of pieces to find out that measurements for holes would put a hole in a hole. So off to the engineer's office with blueprint and sample piece to show how you can't have a hole in a hole. The looks were priceless because engineers never make a mistake.

You hit the nail on the head, Axl!

Now Ron.......I don't know what kind of engineers worked at your company, but us good engineers know that you certainly can punch a hole in a hole............you just need to punch the smaller hole first.

Seriously, I'm still laughing......because I deal with fellow engineers all day that can't make a print to save their lives. And what they do come up with will leave you speechless.

Thanks for sharing that!!

;)

Bob

Lol ....great deal on the chainsaws! Well, Bob, I don't think people are getting dumber. I really think that many people are just not aware of just how dumb/ignorant they are! When ignorance is reinforced by other people who validate a person's confidence in the "facts" they have total confidence in, which are really not facts at all...people get more willing to get up in public and share some of the ridiculous beliefs they live by. For quite a while, weeks I think?? There were people gathered in Dealy Plaza awaiting for John Kennedy Junior to suddenly either come back from the dead or confirm that he never actually died and march past the famous, notorious Book Depository. They declared that he would (as a Zombie I guess??) run for Vice President with....You know Who in the next election. Is this the thinking process of a "NORMAL" mind?.

In San Francisco a few years back, a lady used to frequent the same coffee shop as myself. I would get my coffee and she would be there reading the paper or a book, looking very normal and clean-cut with a hi and smile. Maybe about once a month I would see the other side of the woman. She would be marching up and down the middle of the road, blocking traffic, talking about how the lizard people were in her head and coming to take over the world, that we better prepare. Looking like she had slept under a bush, probably had, she might do this for two days and nights. Not threatening anyone, the cops would just leave her to it. Then suddenly she was there again calmly sipping her coffee. She was always alone. What if she had connected with fifty other people who were similarly mentally ill gathered in and around that coffee shop and collectively urged each other to throw away their meds and "just be themselves". Validation by others who have a similar unfortunate affliction is not really a positive way to deal with the situation. I see Facebook as similar to that coffee shop where people's erroneous beliefs get validation and silly beliefs are reinforced 24 hours a day. Obviously not all Facebook regulars fall into this category, but compartmentalization and division into little or big cliques that follow this, that, or the other "Guru" or "Steve Bannon-esque" conman...but there are more than a few. When they speak with a common, if totally deluded voice, they appear to be more important and even worse, more correct in their off-the-wall thought processes. Environmental activists breaking into facilities and releasing animals to make a point is sometimes not a bad thing. However, has anyone seen the movie, maybe show called "Twelve Monkeys"? The animals released into the environment have this virus which proceeds to spread now, now!! Not equating Facebook loyalists to diseased monkeys, but I think you get my point. False information spread through the internet is literally just like a viral disease being passed from one computer to the next.

False and misleading information is the same as a deadly virus and maybe even more dangerous when up to 30% of any population may be gullible enough to believe almost anything if presented in the right context and by the right conman.

A person I know, a very smart lady, probably much smarter than me in many ways, was wavering a bit one time on the subject of evolution. "How does a monkey just decide to get rid of its hair (most of it) and walk on two legs?" First off, there was no deciding involved. If the tree dwellers had to forage on the ground, the ones who by accident of birth stand up on two legs had much better odds of survival. He/she could see predators sooner, which meant he was not eaten!! By not being eaten, he could continue to have great Great Apesex and make some babies who could stand upright. It's simple common sense and survival of those who have the most advantageous accidental genetic alterations. The full name includes the phrase "by means of Natural Selection". How did the ugly Bulldog become an Ugly Bulldog? Not by Natural Selection but by totally Unnatural selection by Breeders. Ok, I went way off on a tangent. But for a good cause. When we talked about the time involved in creating what we are today, this person finally exclaimed......."well why didn't someone tell it like that before!! Makes perfect sense".

I could never see how religious people cannot give God credit for coming up with this very effective Long Game. I think I might have even believed in God if the priests had explained this and told us how smart and ingenious this God is. Not the guy who pulls a rabbit out of his hat, but a guy/person/entity that could plan millions of years ahead and wind up with the human race....I know we're not perfect but generally speaking we are pretty damn special.....and we might be the only ones??? Ya think...lol...Nawww.

Nobody will read this but I don't care, just had to get on a rant from my high horse!!

Mister Magoo...Eamon..

.

Hello magoo.

I read it, AND ENJOYOYED IT!  But then, I feel a good rant is what a lot of people need to let off steam and to get it out of their system. I think they call it 'CATHARIS'. 

Best wishes

Bill

Thank you, Bill, for the vote of confidence. It is scary to think that a large part of the population can be conned so readily.... I give you Brexit!

When I lived in New York (The Bronx), every evening the news was mostly shootings, stabbings, baby killers... etc, etc. If an alien was transported to the living room to watch the "Six o'Clock Action News with Roger Grimsby" (stuck in my brain!!), that alien would hop into his spaceship and get outta Dodge with all haste!! I never got shot, stabbed, mugged, or arrested, but from the news, it looked like the criminals were all around me just waiting!! A friend who was black and lived in a different part of the Bronx gave his wife her shotgun every morning... "if anyone crosses that threshold and it's not me, blow their fffng head off." It was real to some extent, a few people I knew were shot and killed, but in general, people were just trying to survive and keep a roof over their heads. Today, the people in the suburbs think that the evil city people will be coming for them and have the machine guns to wipe 'em out. Living in some version of "The Walking Dead"!! Police are some of the most terrified people out there. They are told to act like everyone has a gun and wants to kill them... result, they kill over and over when no threat is present. I saw a video yesterday of a 60-plus-year-old riding a disability scooter that moves at a slow walk. He had a bad hip and couldn't walk. A clerk in Walmart called the cops and said the guy stole a toolbox and showed her a knife of some kind. The cops show up as the guy is very slowly making his way to Home Depot. Two big six-foot cops walking behind him, one telling him to stop. Suddenly, out of the blue, one of the cowardly fools (cop) shoots this guy 9 (NINE!!) times in the back. As he falls out of the chair dead, the guy who shot him grabs his arms and puts the handcuffs on... on a dead man!! This is who people fear today in the US, cowardly cops like this fool. I saw zero coverage on the news networks. Cops have "Qualified Immunity" so if he says, "I was in fear for my life," then everything goes away, no crime here!! Also, cannot be sued in civil court for any action like this, even a clear murder.

People are becoming fearful of everything and think that everyone is out to get them, no matter how unlikely that is.

Here in Marin, it is like an oasis of calm and coolness, and they're mostly Democrats.

Gotta go. Thanks again, Bill. Your comments mean a lot to me...

Hello Magoo.

Just for the record. I think the british people were lied to about BREXIT, and it seems the deceit is continuing to such an extent that this government are as close to being corrupt as they get.

Best wishes

Bill 

Hi Winnie, since we're going there... I would remind our dear readers that our previous dear leader suggested that, actually requested, that Deborah Birx find ways to "insert light sources into people's bodies to attack the nonexistent Covid (all from the podium in the White House press room). Also, while she was at it, she should find a way to clean patients' insides with industrial cleaning fluids or maybe advise patients to have a nice refreshing glass of Chlorox bleach with their cookies before bedtime... Yummyyy, can't wait for bedtime. The really sad fact, real fact!! is that many people were treated at poison centers for doing exactly that!! Getting the light source inside the body might be a much more difficult, lots of lube lol! endeavour for us in particular since the ultraviolet strobe wouldn't fit in the place where the sun don't shine lol... In regard to the great leader (not Kim in North Korea, the other one). Sometimes it is better to remain silent and be thought of as a fool rather than open your mouth and confirm it. A very wise person once said that, words to live by.

By the way, "True Facebook stories" probably qualifies as an oxymoron.

Maoo out...

Ok, Lucky Charms...........since you're going there........let's tell everyone the true story of what Trump said regarding UV light, bleach, etc and not the liberal left talking points version.

First, the comments were made during a daily White House coronavirus task force press briefing, not a public address the President was making to all Americans. During the briefing William N. Bryan, the acting undersecretary for science and technology at the Homeland Security Department, detailed recent lab studies carried out by the agency at the U.S. Army's biosecurity laboratory in Maryland. The purpose of the briefing was to present recent US Government research study findings that indicated exposure to heat, humidity, and light quickly weakened the virus. The study also showed bleach could kill the virus in saliva or respiratory fluids within five minutes and isopropyl alcohol could kill it even more quickly. Behind those on the stage was a large placard you can see in the pic below, that was indicating bleach and sunshine were being proposed as possible strategies to kill the virus. This wasn't Trump's idea, it was their findings. Trump noted the research should be treated with caution, and then suggested further research was needed in those areas. That's when he said to Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator "So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous - whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light.......I think you said that hasn't been checked but you're going to test it." And then he said "supposing you brought the light inside of the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you're going to test that too. Sounds interesting,". "And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? "So it'd be interesting to check that."

That's how it went down. Trump did not tell the American people to do anything. He saw the results being presented and thought out loud about how those results could be implemented, and was talking to his coordinator to see if further research was ongoing. That's what leaders do, they push for ways to take ideas and implement them. He wasn't looking into the cameras and telling America to stick a UV light up their asses or inject bleach. It was the Anti-Trump REPORTERS who spun it as Trump telling Americans to do stupid shit.

Should he have thought out loud........probably not. But he's a problem solver, and that's what they do. I do it every day, and people know I'm throwing ideas around to get people thinking......some are stupid........but they get people thinking outside the box......which keeps the progress coming.

Now, it's documented that Trump said between 76 and 82 stupid things while in office, depending on whose list you use. That was in a 4-year span of time. The current Human Gaffe Machine of a President has already surpassed those numbers in terms of stupid things said. So why don't we wait another 3 years and see who said more stupid shit? What are the odds Ol' Joe won't say anything else that's stupid or ridiculous? I don't think Vegas would take that bet. If you Google 'dumb things that Biden said' you'll see they already stopped counting and are giving "The 10 Best", which changes weekly. And hey, we've got three more years of idiocy to watch unfold........this should be good!

So "They're magically delicious!"......you dig?

;0)
Bob