Posted on 09/15/2016 7:43:18 PM PDT by MtnClimber
In the early 1600s, pioneering astronomer Johannes Kepler put forth his three laws of planetary motion, which, for the first time, provided an accurate and evidence-based description of the movement of the Solar System's planets around the Sun. By the end of the century, Isaac Newton followed Kepler's example with three laws of his own, describing the relationship between an object and the forces acting on it, thus laying the foundations for classical mechanics. Almost exactly three hundred years later, Carlo M. Cipolla, a professor of economic history at the University of California - Berkeley, introduced a set of laws no less revelatory than those of Kepler or Newton: The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity.
While these laws are not taught in grade school, they do hold lessons worthy of reflection in this modern era. Stupidity today is on display more than ever before -- on TV, YouTube, and the city streets you frequent each and every day. To better react to and avoid such dimwitted behavior, one must first understand it. Cipolla's insightful set of five laws is a helpful guide.
His first law sets the stage.
"Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation."
Glaringly pessimistic, the first law is meant to prepare you for what's out there, and what's out there are hordes of people who do stupid things, often without notice. And there are always more of them than you think.
Contributing to the first law is Cipolla's second law.
"The probability that a certain person will be stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person."
Anybody, whether intellectual or ignorant, blue-collar or white collar, book smart or street smart, can be stupid. Moreover, idiocy persists at roughly equal proportions at all levels of society. The rate of stupidity amongst Nobel laureates is just as high as it is amongst male swimmers on the U.S. Olympic team.
"[The Second Basic Law’s] implications are frightening," Cipolla wrote. "The Law implies that whether you move in distinguished circles or you take refuge among the head-hunters of Polynesia, whether you lock yourself into a monastery or decide to spend the rest of your life in the company of beautiful and lascivious women, you always have to face the same percentage of stupid people -- which (in accordance with the First Law) will always surpass your expectations."
...but not the English test!
Is that an insult? I'm having a problem reading your energy.
Yeah was playing with a site called infoencrypt.com and it is a pretty good converter.....
my test password is pantex422698 .... if ya have time cut an paste the post above and see if it works.
Laziness +Ignorance+Stubbornness = Stupidity
One of the most wrong and misleading ideas of our time is the belief that everyone else out there is stupid.
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the saying, in one form or another, that there are just so many stupid people in the world.
Most people making this statement either don’t interact with regular people or refuse, through their elitist perspective, to pay attention to the common wisdom of regular people.
The “everyone else is stupid” line propagates one of the founding strategies of progressivism.
And it is, in itself, stupid.
I agree. Leftism is an elitist belief system. They think that if regular people let the elitists run their lives for them, they would be so much better off. Of course central planning requires everyone to obey the plan and the planners will need to eliminate those who do not comply. In the end the regular people end up being sheep to be sheared for the benefit of the elitists. The elitists are stupid because they have chosen a path where if everything was right in the world they would meet an unnatural death at the hands of those they oppressed. Those who carry the water for the elitists are either evil or stupid.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.