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The Brotherhood of Morons
21–30 of 77 posts
Re: The Brotherhood of Morons
#22I got part way through and quit. I appreciate the author's perspective, but I'm kind of tired of people so adamantly avoiding empathy. It's easy to say someone is acting stupidly; it's much harder to put yourself in their shoes and understand why they might be acting that way. I dunno, maybe there is some wisdom I missed because I didn't finish it.
Agree. Moreover, I don't agree with the author that some people are just stupid and that's it. Especially, with the surgeon example. I really don't think a surgeon can be stupid per se. That should be very rate occurrence. More like people do stupid things all the time. Including author, who is too smug, which I also consider stupid.
The "smugness" of the author is what made me close the tab 3 sections in. And totally agree, some of the smartest people I know are also the most aloof.
Re: The Brotherhood of Morons
#23There's a lot of truth in this, but I struggle with the conclusion of "avoid stupid (destructive) people at all costs." While I don't doubt this is best for personal satisfaction and sanity, it feels lacking in compassion. An example: I have teenage children, and they have some friends in school who fit the stupid description from the article (destructive behaviors). They grew up in unstable homes and didn't have goo…
> It would be easier, and perhaps safer, to push my children to not associate with them - is that really the best policy?
Yes, because a child's peers have more influence on their development than your parenting: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-scientific-funda...
"Behavior geneticists contend that the rough rule of thumb when it comes to the determinants of child development is 50-0-50, that is, roughly 50% of the variance in personality, behavior, and other traits is heritable (influenced by genes), roughly 0% by the shared environment (what happens within the family and is experienced by all siblings), and roughly 50% by the nonshared environment (what happens inside and outside of the family, not shared by siblings)."
As an adult, you might be able to compartmentalize dysfunctional people and evaluate their behavior in a neutral manner. But children are not rational like adults. Their frontal cortex isn't fully developed until their mid-20s.
Re: The Brotherhood of Morons
#24> What Taleb calls the Intellectual Yet Idiot (IYI) - someone who has the mannerisms and interests of a superficially intelligent person but who nonetheless is unable to self-reflect or deal with nuance, such as the Harvard-educated Ben Shapiro. I worked in Harvard Square for 5 years (dead center, across the street from Curious George, between the Greenhouse and the Coop), and it was always my assertion that Harvard…
My favourite definition of an intellectual: 'Someone who has been educated beyond his/her intelligence'.
-- Arthur C. Clarke
Re: The Brotherhood of Morons
#25Real "idiots" are people that have convinced themselves that they are not "idiots".
We all do and say stupid idiotic things all the time.
Re: The Brotherhood of Morons
#26"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
Re: The Brotherhood of Morons
#27[dead]
Re: The Brotherhood of Morons
#28I got part way through and quit. I appreciate the author's perspective, but I'm kind of tired of people so adamantly avoiding empathy. It's easy to say someone is acting stupidly; it's much harder to put yourself in their shoes and understand why they might be acting that way. I dunno, maybe there is some wisdom I missed because I didn't finish it.
I quote: > "The remainder are simply stupid. This is approximately the composition of the organization writ large. The number of people at this organization who dislike their job, their stakeholders, and their salary but don't leave even though they no longer have the energy to work is astonishing, and that alone is enough to constitute stupidity as per Cipolla's definition." Because, apparently, a person cannot be b…
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Re: The Brotherhood of Morons
#29Being incredibly angry all the time is no way to live your life.
Re: The Brotherhood of Morons
#30> What Taleb calls the Intellectual Yet Idiot (IYI) - someone who has the mannerisms and interests of a superficially intelligent person but who nonetheless is unable to self-reflect or deal with nuance, such as the Harvard-educated Ben Shapiro. I worked in Harvard Square for 5 years (dead center, across the street from Curious George, between the Greenhouse and the Coop), and it was always my assertion that Harvard…
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