How do you deal with stupidity?

[sammael]

Ok, I never meant this post to be so long, and it is a bit of a rant so bear with me, I'm happy I have someone to bitch to
Warning: explicit language and possible blasphemy

There's been a lot of things lately, that have been really irritating me, and most of it seems to come down to human stupidity. By stupidity I mean the inability to grasp simple concepts, narrow mindedness, blatant ignorance and general.. intellectual failing. Now I know these (the opposites of the above negatives) are some of my/INTP strengths, but seriously, can people be that lacking..? Can it be put down to personality type, psychology, physiology, is it something they can't help..?
The ratio of intelligent to unintelligent people on earth seems to be way out, every day I see/hear things that I can only shake my head at. I know I'm probably a little biased, being that I place a lot of importance/value on intelligence and knowledge, rather than ideals, duty or action/excitement (a reference to temperament types, NT's/rationals, NF's/idealists, SJ's/guardians and SP's/ artisans) but I'm sure a more liberal sprinkling of brain capacity would only be a good thing.


Here I have some (more extreme) examples to illustrate my point:

• Recently I read a news article about a woman who broke her back on an ocean jet boat (adventure tourism) because she wasn't wearing her seatbelt. She blamed the operating company and was even considering legal action because she wasn't explicitly 'told to keep her seatbelt on'. Are you kidding me? When you go to the zoo do they explicitly tell you not to climb into the lion enclosure? You're on a jet boat travelling 100kms/hour in a heavy ocean swell, bouncing and thumping all over the place, AT WHAT POINT DOES IT BECOME A GOOD IDEA TO TAKE YOUR FUCKING SEATBELT OFF??? Jesus Christ.
• In my younger years i spent some time in the logging industry. Part of my job was logmaking, which involves deciding what grade the trees were and how to cut them up. My boss was so simple he couldn't grasp the basic concept of discarding small sections of the tree, in order to get better, and much higher valued logs. For example, I would mark about one meter or so off the butt or middle of the log to be discarded, because it was too gnarly to be anything but the lowest grade. If that was cut off, the next section could be marked as the higher grade, which was worth three-four times as much. When my boss saw this he would yell at me for five minutes straight for 'wasting wood'. Then I had to remark the whole tree to the low grade specifications because he was too stupid to understand my simple explanation, thus causing the company to get only one third of the price for the tree than what was possible. Dumbass. Not surprisingly, I didn't stay there long.
• I read recently somewhere about Manny Pacquiao (one of the world's highest earning athletes) and Nicolas Cage (apparently one of the highest paid actors) having 'financial trouble'. Ah.. What? How do you manage to fuck up earning in excess of 30/40 million a year..? Are you so retarded that not only can you not manage to do something useful with it (even the interest off a goddam savings account, something any ten year old child could do, for fucks sake) you somehow manage to lose it? ... How..?
• I once had an argument with someone about the presence of mammary glands in men. This is basic anatomy 101, it's a fact that mammary glands exist in both sexes. Yet he not only out rightly refused to believe this, he laughed in my face for my silliness. He was so ignorant that he could not conceive of the reality of this, no matter how much I explained that THERE IS FUCKING PHYSICAL PROOF. On a side note this guy is quite obviously not just your average dumbass, i have had many such conversations with him.
• MBTI related, extraverts judging introverts. This goes one of two ways, either: arrogant, or shy, depending on confidence, body language etc. The reasoning appears to be that because extraverts always have so much to say, anyone who doesn't talk all the time (introverts) is either too 'cool' to say what they're thinking, or too shy to say what they're thinking. They generally don't seem to understand we simply might not have anything to say and don't necessarily feel any desire to contribute/conversate. This leads to..
• A woman I know *cough* ESTJ *cough* once remarked during a conversation about the (hypothetical) possibility of parents choosing the type of their child, that everyone would choose extraverts. I stopped. I stared. I marveled at this she-monkey. Perhaps she had only just learnt to walk upright without using her knuckles..? Scratch that, perhaps she just crawled out of the sea and began covering her bumps with leaves..? (glaringly obvious, evolution theory isn't one of my strong points). Her statement was ignorant in so many ways that I actually lose brain cells every time I think about it.

This kind of behaviour drives me bat-shit insane, I find it incredibly hard to deal with. I have learnt through experience that any response involving brusqueness or anger only makes the situation worse. I have a few simple remedies: avoidance of these morons, when possible, humour (although laughter, however unavoidable, is not always the best response either) and ignoration n. the act of disregarding deliberately, or refraining to recognise.

I am interested in hearing different perspectives on stupidity.

How do you react to this?

How do you deal with this?

Similar experiences?

 

[GYX_Kid]

-find morally void squad of stealthy ninjas
-steal existing ebola samples from laboratories
-harvest in underground farm, infecting lab rats while manually mutating with vaccinations
-release onto every reachable location of earth via air and water supply
-???
-profit.


or just smoke a lot of crack
and break things with a sledgehammer

 

[lucky12]

if i have determined that no consequence holds me back, i just let them know they aren't logically inclined.

Otherwise.. i keep it to myself, and make of it what i can.

 

[Hadoblado]

There is stupidity in abundance, deal with it. You seem to want to vent, and that's fine, but the continuous niggling at how stupid other people are can only really bring unhappiness.

...If you want to share stupid stories though

I once had someone bet me a can of redbull that he was taller than me. I was standing directly in front of him in a slouched position. I then shook his hand and straightened up, showing myself to be a good 5 - 6 inches taller. How the fuck does someone not understand extension at 20yo?

Fucking stupid...

 

[GYX_Kid]

you won a redbull. nice. i have 3 in the fridge, i think i'll get one and stay up all night finishing work.

 

[Hadoblado]

A life tip GYX: if you have not already, shop around energy drink wise. If the only one you like is redbull then you have not lost much. If you find that you like anything else equally you will save much $$$. I don't know where you live but in Australia we have the drink called 'wicked' which comes up to $1.25 a 500ml can, compared to redbull's $3.50 a 250ml can. The only difference I can tell is lack of taurine, which apparently doesn't matter for me as I drink it religiously.

 

[lucky12]

'finishing work' eh.. hope you don't have exams, but if you do good luck lol

I worked in a bike shop, the odd time someone had the vaguest idea of what I was doing or what was actually broken on their bike, I'd always treat them very well. This also helped deal with the 'stupid' people, I rewarded myself with karma.


Energy drinks.. if you find someone who is a sales rep, or is sponsored, etc (direct line of communication with the company) buy a pouch of the concentrate (ex. how fountain pop is contained). Then mix with carbonated water. If you like jager bombs.. this will blow your fucking pants off. Then you get those plastic cups made for jager bombs. BAM

 

[GYX_Kid]

@Hadoblado: i don't think we have wicked in the eastern states, but i'd order it online if you recommend it. gotta try new energy drinks.

in japan i had one called real gold, tasted like gummi bear-sprite.

not sure if australia has full throttle, which is probably my favorite that's easy to find...used to be sobe adrenaline rush, but can't find it around anymore


@lucky12: yep, definitely getting work done over here.
my mind's left hand that it isn't aware of is doing all of it.
btw, that sounds delicious. thanks haha.



let's all mix red bull and jager while leaving our responsibilities to imaginary tools

 

[xbox]

Ok, I never meant this post to be so long, and it is a bit of a rant so bear with me, I'm happy I have someone to bitch to
Warning: explicit language and possible blasphemy

There's been a lot of things lately, that have been really irritating me, and most of it seems to come down to human stupidity. By stupidity I mean the inability to grasp simple concepts, narrow mindedness, blatant ignorance and general.. intellectual failing. Now I know these (the opposites of the above negatives) are some of my/INTP strengths, but seriously, can people be that lacking..? Can it be put down to personality type, psychology, physiology, is it something they can't help..?

Been wondering the same today. I just think the more talkative ones have the tendency to let their opinions and 'mental processes' be known to the world around them. They come across all friendly, because of their batteries never run out of charge. They make friends fast, and have a great big group of them, while we sit back wondering "how the hell?...WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE EVEN SEE IN THIS PERSON??"

example 1:

Like my extremely emotionally volatile and talkative ESFJ roommate. She has tested my tolerance levels for patience and anger management. She's made my blood boil so many times. She probably didn't even know because outwardly I look emotionally stoic, and don't care to engage in conversation with the 99% of the crap she blathers out of her mouth.

There would be times where she would put me down for being introverted, and call me weak, just because I choose not to talk. Little does she know, I analyze the situation, and only talk when I feel like its worth spending valuable ATP to engage in conversations that interest me, rather than wasting it.. I told her, "strength comes when you are able to keep your emotions stable in the face of opposition, but I seriously doubt that weakness and talkativeness are even slightly correlated." Ofcourse she had nothing to say to that. (ESFJ's HAAATE it when you prove them wrong).

She's a pageant queen, but in my book, she's not that great. She's about to be in a beauty pageant. Since she's a chubby girl, she went on a "diet". No exercise, no carbs, and only meats, cheeses, and water. I questioned her about how the diet works, especially with no exercise, but she got so agitated, and pulled up a BS website (not scientifically related), and started reading off statistics. To keep the roommate peace until the lease ran out, I ended up researching it myself, and found out that it's one of the worst ways to diet. I realized Its better off being quiet since intellectual conversations, or even NORMAL conversations result in a total freak out from her.

example 2:

Yeah I'm sure every INTP has heard this phrase before "I thought you were a bitch", "You seem intense", "I sense walls", or "You seem intimidating". And its almost always an "E" person who says it. You're right, because its just that they are so used to gathering a crowd of like minded individuals who feed them, once they run into an INTP, they suddenly think that introvertedness is abnormal.

example 3:

Believe it or not, I've had *real* debates with religious people about whether devil possession actually happens.

How to deal with it:

Be yourself. Drives them all crazy. Walk away, or say something like "wow I find this leaf much more intellectually stimulating." Or my best one, I emotionally distance myself from people until they feel the cold artic winds.

 

[Hadoblado]

Oh xbox how I feel for you! keep on keeping on trooper!

nrg - I wouldn't recommend them as such, redbull does taste a bit better, but the wicked let me drink them whenever I wanted, which is all the time. I actually quit nrg drinks because they can do some nasty stuff to you if you take them too often, and I was having 2-3 big cans a day minimum.

 

[P.H.]

I'm dealing with the same stuff. I'll just lurk this topic for advice.

 

[Hadoblado]

*throws rock at P.H, knocking him from his position lurking on the ceiling*
...
*thinks about whether the origin of the previous analogy has anything to do with the positioning of the trees in P.H.'s avatar*

Contribute dammit! You have no excuse to be introverted among fellow introverts who are discussing a topic which you have already expressed interest in!

 

[P.H.]

I'm actually a her :P

Would be awesome to have things (other than lamps) hanging from the ceiling... lol what about ketchup bottles in the kitchen, the squeeze ones, so all you have to do is get on a stool and hold your plate under the bottle. Saves up room in the refridg- oh damn it. Hot air rises. Some sort of airco thingy...

I'm actually not feeling the need to vent about stupid people. (which is quite rare)
Whenever I do, I'll give my two cents

 

[digital angel]

My comments are:

1) keep coming back to this forum;

2) remember it takes alot of people to make the world go round; and

3) we're cool the way we are.

 

[EditorOne]

Hey, I read every word, and the part I'm going to treasure is this:

"I marveled at this she-monkey."

That's gonna stick with me. I'm sure I will smile inappropriately in the future when someone lives up to this mental image. So it goes.

My only observation is that it is as tough for smart to understand stupid as it is for stupid to understand smart, so I've stopped letting it bother me. In my hobby world there are people who think a canvas tent in October should be floored and sealed with straw, then heated with propane heaters while they wrap themselves inextricably in nylon sleeping bags. I don't begin to understand why anyone would want to sleep on a Viking funeral pyre, I just make sure I'm some distance away.

I have noticed, however, that people who try to come across as smart when they really are not all that smart are pretty damned funny. You might want to simply sit back and enjoy. The human race continues to proliferate, which might be a modest measure of success but it's better than extinction.

 

[Cogwulf]

I try not to let stupidity bother me, what I really hate though is to see people being stupid when I feel it would take only the tiniest little bit of effort to understand something.

I have noticed, however, that people who try to come across as smart when they really are not all that smart are pretty damned funny. You might want to simply sit back and enjoy

When I worked as a lab technician my boss was one of those people.
Me and my colleagues often avoided violence by laughing at him behind his back.

 

[GYX_Kid]

I try not to let stupidity bother me, what I really hate though is to see people being stupid when I feel it would take only the tiniest little bit of effort to understand something.

it almost pains me to analyze these people to understanding them.
although once you understand them, you then have the power to use their stupidity against them spitefully, especially if they were trying to manipulate, get at you, judge you, were a general dick, etc. Of course then it becomes one of those wars of who can shit bigger, which is usually pointless unless you need to prove something to yourself and get more experience with escalation

 

[Hadoblado]

I'm actually a her :P

Would be awesome to have things (other than lamps) hanging from the ceiling... lol what about ketchup bottles in the kitchen, the squeeze ones, so all you have to do is get on a stool and hold your plate under the bottle. Saves up room in the refridg- oh damn it. Hot air rises. Some sort of airco thingy...

I'm actually not feeling the need to vent about stupid people. (which is quite rare)
Whenever I do, I'll give my two cents

Oh. Well in that case...
Couldn't you save room in the fridge by keeping your sauce in the cupboard?

 

[nexion]

How does one deal with his own stupidity?

 

[GYX_Kid]

How does one deal with his own stupidity?

that's what i was half-trying to hint at all along

and what is really practical in the scheme of things

 

[P.H.]

Oh. Well in that case...
Couldn't you save room in the fridge by keeping your sauce in the cupboard?

Not sure... Aren't those things supposed to be cooled?

 

[IzlaRoza]

I feel that i am constantly surrounded by stupidity... as i have coped with understanding that there is no escape (other than my room), i found a simple solution: I just laugh at them, especially the idiots who are arrogant and ignorant. Thats all i can do besides feel sorry for them.

 

[Iuanes]

This is funny. I was just talking to someone about how they can actually feel my anger/frustration around stupidity, and I totally didn't even know it was that detectable or exceptional. I don't think I even comment that much or let it known verbally. They said it was like an inner 'growl'. Haha.

I don't know. I don't talk to or hang out with that many stupid people. It must shitty for those people who have to go to work with them. I'll probably have to deal with it eventually. I guess you can't blame someone for what they are. Like if an animal attacks you, or shits on your lawn, you can't really HATE it. It's just nature.

 

[Cavallier]

My initial reaction is to be frustrated and angry.

Then I realize that perhaps it's not that they are stupid but that they see the world in a totally different way from myself. I think that maybe I'm being prejudiced.

Then I usually realize that I'm putting all this effort into it and they are effortlessly being difficult. So I flip back to frustrated and angry.

Though, usually I just back up and go around. Not worth the work.

 

[EditorOne]

"This is funny. I was just talking to someone about how they can actually feel my anger/frustration around stupidity, and I totally didn't even know it was that detectable or exceptional."

Every now and then we are an open book and people are actually on the same page as us.

Seriously, though, the inability to mask scorn and disdain is one reason some of us get called arrogant from time to time. Essentially, we are, indeed, arrogant, and impolite enough not to mask it, which is like arrogance squared to some folks. Yet we might think we're doing a good job concealing just how frustrated we are. We think we get high marks for not being rude, meanwhile our true feelings are shining through like a nuclear reactor out of control.

 

[Iuanes]

Yeah, of course this person was Fe. They step into a room and start reading everybody. As for the arrogance, words used were 'you held yourself like you thought you were better the everybody else'. Which of course, is true, but come on, you can tell?

 

[sammael]

I guess you can't blame someone for what they are. Like if an animal attacks you, or shits on your lawn, you can't really HATE it. It's just nature.

That's an interesting way of looking at it, and probably true, sometimes I just can't believe it's possible that they can't help but be like that, like if they tried they could be smarter. I think that's what frustrates me the most. I've always struggled with the question of whether someone could be smarter in that sense if they actually tried, or not.

Though, usually I just back up and go around. Not worth the work.

I agree Cav, it's just not worth it.

Seriously, though, the inability to mask scorn and disdain is one reason some of us get called arrogant from time to time. Essentially, we are, indeed, arrogant, and impolite enough not to mask it, which is like arrogance squared to some folks. Yet we might think we're doing a good job concealing just how frustrated we are. We think we get high marks for not being rude, meanwhile our true feelings are shining through like a nuclear reactor out of control.

Lol, I had to laugh at that, how familiar. I realised a long time ago that this is what I do, but I simply do not (and can not bring myself to) care, thus have no desire to change. That statement is full of arrogance, I accept that, but what can I do about it? I will not play the games required to become something different, and being that something different matters not a bit to me. People don't understand I simply couldn't care less.

I guess (as has been said in various ways) stupidity is subjective, and by extension, not necessarily seen as stupidity by everyone, particularly the perpetrator. Sigh

 

[BigApplePi]

Here I have some (more extreme) examples to illustrate my point:

Ever heard the expression, "Bear fools gladly"? Let's see if these things below can be made more bearable.

• Recently I read a news article about a woman who broke her back on an ocean jet boat (adventure tourism) because she wasn't wearing her seatbelt. She blamed the operating company and was even considering legal action because she wasn't explicitly 'told to keep her seatbelt on'. Are you kidding me? When you go to the zoo do they explicitly tell you not to climb into the lion enclosure? You're on a jet boat travelling 100kms/hour in a heavy ocean swell, bouncing and thumping all over the place, AT WHAT POINT DOES IT BECOME A GOOD IDEA TO TAKE YOUR FUCKING SEATBELT OFF??? Jesus Christ.

  This woman is extremely smart. She knew she was fooling around (the ride was orgasmic) but needed to win a law suit to take care of her back.

• In my younger years i spent some time in the logging industry. Part of my job was logmaking, which involves deciding what grade the trees were and how to cut them up. My boss was so simple he couldn't grasp the basic concept of discarding small sections of the tree, in order to get better, and much higher valued logs. For example, I would mark about one meter or so off the butt or middle of the log to be discarded, because it was too gnarly to be anything but the lowest grade. If that was cut off, the next section could be marked as the higher grade, which was worth three-four times as much. When my boss saw this he would yell at me for five minutes straight for 'wasting wood'. Then I had to remark the whole tree to the low grade specifications because he was too stupid to understand my simple explanation, thus causing the company to get only one third of the price for the tree than what was possible. Dumbass. Not surprisingly, I didn't stay there long.

This guy was also smart. He knew you were overqualified for your job and he risked you taking over. He had to do something to get rid of you.

• I read recently somewhere about Manny Pacquiao (one of the world's highest earning athletes) and Nicolas Cage (apparently one of the highest paid actors) having 'financial trouble'. Ah.. What? How do you manage to fuck up earning in excess of 30/40 million a year..? Are you so retarded that not only can you not manage to do something useful with it (even the interest off a goddam savings account, something any ten year old child could do, for fucks sake) you somehow manage to lose it? ... How..?

  Easy come; easy go. Why think about money when you can have fun?

• I once had an argument with someone about the presence of mammary glands in men. This is basic anatomy 101, it's a fact that mammary glands exist in both sexes. Yet he not only out rightly refused to believe this, he laughed in my face for my silliness. He was so ignorant that he could not conceive of the reality of this, no matter how much I explained that THERE IS FUCKING PHYSICAL PROOF. On a side note this guy is quite obviously not just your average dumbass, i have had many such conversations with him.

  It's unbecoming of men to think of themselves as having tits. This guy was obviously all man and wanted to remain so.

  [*]MBTI related, extraverts judging introverts. This goes one of two ways, either: arrogant, or shy, depending on confidence, body language etc. The reasoning appears to be that because extraverts always have so much to say, anyone who doesn't talk all the time (introverts) is either too 'cool' to say what they're thinking, or too shy to say what they're thinking. They generally don't seem to understand we simply might not have anything to say and don't necessarily feel any desire to contribute/conversate. This leads to..

Commentary unnecessary.

A woman I know *cough* ESTJ *cough* once remarked during a conversation about the (hypothetical) possibility of parents choosing the type of their child, that everyone would choose extraverts. I stopped. I stared. I marveled at this she-monkey. Perhaps she had only just learnt to walk upright without using her knuckles..? Scratch that, perhaps she just crawled out of the sea and began covering her bumps with leaves..? (glaringly obvious, evolution theory isn't one of my strong points). Her statement was ignorant in so many ways that I actually lose brain cells every time I think about it.This kind of behaviour drives me bat-shit insane, I find it incredibly hard to deal with. I have learnt through experience that any response involving brusqueness or anger only makes the situation worse. I have a few simple remedies: avoidance of these morons, when possible, humour (although laughter, however unavoidable, is not always the best response either) and ignoration n. the act of disregarding deliberately, or refraining to recognise.

This woman is on the road to becoming a master politicianess. She knew right away how to eliminate the opposition.

I am interested in hearing different perspectives on stupidity.

In a soundless environment I can't hear anything.

How do you react to this?

I go batshit insane and possibly get upset as well.

How do you deal with this?

I use incompetency as my prime option for decisive action.
]quote[Similar experiences?]/QUOTE[

I learn a lot from my mirror.

 

[Thales]

I respond with barely concealed derision...towards myself. Human beings=idiots, there are just varying degrees of severity...and I consider myself to be pretty severe.

 

[Iuanes]

I respond with barely concealed derision...towards myself. Human beings=idiots, there are just varying degrees of severity...and I consider myself to be pretty severe.

Yup. This is important. Just as you can say there are 'objectively' stupid people compared to you, there are people who might look at you as 'objectively' stupid. And lets face it, we do A LOT of stupid, irrational things.

 

[Thales]

Of course. Also, there was a study done that claimed the average person believes themselves to have above average intelligence. Without proof, it's best to shut up, and even if there is "proof" for yourself it still is an experimental field, even though it is a field I greatly respect, if for no other reason than for its continous desire to be accurate.

Finally, even if someone is a "genius" it is relative towards the average or above average HUMAN. I don't know, I'm tired and sedated. Laterzz.

 

[sammael]

Ever heard the expression, "Bear fools gladly"? Let's see if these things below can be made more bearable.

Lol. Thank you for this enlightening perspective ApplePi, you have forever changed my outlook on human motives.

I learn a lot from my mirror.

Now there's a thought to ponder.

 

[BigApplePi]

Lol. Thank you for this enlightening perspective ApplePi, you have forever changed my outlook on human motives.

Anytime I can help you with being stupid, sammael, I will be your man.