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Are We Idiocracy Yet?

idiocracy.wtf

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Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#351

Post by ben_w »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #221
jacquesm wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If Trump spots a mentally capable person that is also stupid enough to eat his slop (or evil enough), he gets a job. Isn't that a bit like a wooly mammoth? In theory it could exist but in practice you're not going to find anybody that is both mentally capable and at the same time stupid enough to eat his slop. That leaves evil enough and there are plenty of those...

There are plenty of intelligent people that are willing to ride on the back of the Trump regime. That seems mostly to be the problem, in fact. Whoever suggested that using Tariffs to provide a handle to move stocks that they could use to trade, I very much doubt it came from Trump. That was provided the means to keep all the greedy grubbers in the Republican party onside whilst they hid Trump's involvement with Epste…

> he knew to over pay for Twitter so he could use it to help swing elections and put himself in political power.

I currently believe this was accidental on his part, that he was manoeuvred into overpaying by the previous owners.

Nevertheless, I would still count Musk as "intelligent". Not as intelligent as his boosters like to claim (obviously, given the boosters treat him as a god amongst men), but intelligent.

> You'd think standing on a dais and thinking you're Hitler reincarnate would have been enough to make tax-payers rise up; clearly not.

Well, they literally did: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Tesla_vandalism

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#352

Post by latexr »

bko wrote: post #314
Goronmon wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can have a message and point of view, but don't put activism over comedy. The "joke" in this case is people's reactions to school shootings. And people's reactions haven't changed, so I don't see why the article should change. It's just so exhausting. This has some real "The worst thing about school shootings is knowing that The Onion is going to repost that article I personally am tired of seeing" energy to it.

It's not a joke if you repeat it 100 times. That article has some real "The best thing about school shootings is we get to have literally every article on our website be this clever headline we wrote 10 years" energy to it.

> It's not a joke if you repeat it 100 times.

A joke does not stop being a joke because of how often it’s repeated. You may no longer find it funny, but it’s still a joke. More importantly, it’s still satire, and The Onion is a satirical news website.

> That article has some real "The best thing about school shootings is we get to have literally every article on our website be this clever headline we wrote 10 years" energy to it.

If that’s what you take from it, you have completely missed the point. The headline works because it’s social commentary, being funny is secondary. The fact they keep reposting it over and over is itself part of the criticism, it shows disapproval for an easy resolvable situation and removes teeth from the arguments of those opposed to it.

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#353

Post by withinboredom »

ern_ave wrote: post #306
ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not in the USA, but I think the issue is not so much the joke getting tiresome, but the repeat school shootings. Maybe if there was work done to stop the shootings, then the joke wouldn't keep getting repeated.

> Maybe if there was work done to stop the shootings It's odd that you seem to believe no work has been done. Lots of work has been done. Lots more work is blocked by people who steadfastly refuse to punish criminals - claiming instead that it's not their fault that they're violent. I'd love to hear any additional ideas you have other than violating the rights of citizens.

When I talk to my niece in the US and she says they have shooting drills instead of fire drills ... I think the US might be doing the wrong work.

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#354

Post by everdrive »

jfengel wrote: post #173
everdrive wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not claiming that Idiocracy is accurate, however IQ scores have been declining. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/research-news/3283/

I'd be curious to know the average IQ of, say, climate deniers. I suspect it's still a perfect 100. I don't think it's about general intelligence. In some ways just the opposite: very smart people have a talent for convincing themselves that they are right. Unfortunately I fear it's more like EQ than IQ. The driver is more about the people. They do not like the kind of people who are trying to prevent climate change,…

A lot of beliefs are cultural and not directly related to intelligence. From an outsider's perspective, it can be difficult to tell which beliefs are merely fact-based and which are rooted in culture.

I think an important thought experiment here would be to really imagine people going to war, killing each other over whether or not biblical transubstantiation is literal or metaphorical. who had the "intelligent" belief in this case? I'd argue neither side and that this was pure tribalism.

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#355

Post by malfist »

AntiDyatlov wrote: post #342
ben_w wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After a while of going up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect While genes must play a part in this (if they didn't, all non-humans would also share our IQ*), genetics shift on a much slower timescale than the entire history of IQ tests. * This pattern matches to the Motte-and-Bailey rhetorical technique, ergo I am suspicious of people who try to tie genetics and IQ until they're clear they're not making a rac…

How can human races not be a meaningful genetic category? Aside from the phentoypical differences, the prevalence of some diseases varies by race.

What gene makes someone Asian?

What gene makes someone black?

What gene makes someone native American?

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#356

Post by throw0101d »

bko wrote: post #335
ern_ave wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe if there was work done to stop the shootings It's odd that you seem to believe no work has been done. Lots of work has been done. Lots more work is blocked by people who steadfastly refuse to punish criminals - claiming instead that it's not their fault that they're violent. I'd love to hear any additional ideas you have other than violating the rights of citizens.

I agree, most of the arguments have been basically "do anything" hysterics that are divorced from reality. For instance, much focus is given on rifles, specifically big black scary looking rifles. In reality if you look at murder rates by weapon type Handguns: ~45–50% Firearm (type unknown): ~20–25% Rifles: ~2–3% Shotguns: ~1–2% Knives / cutting instruments: ~10–12% Blunt objects (clubs, hammers, etc.): ~3–5% Hands,…

> In reality if you look at murder rates by weapon type

What is the school shooting by weapon type? The 'general' mass shooting by weapon type?

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#357

Post by catapart »

bko wrote: post #318
catapart wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> " [...] but don't put activism over comedy." lol. yeah, carlin and bruce can go fuck themselves, I guess. hilariously unserious take, bruh.

They were funny. Do you see the difference?

not quite; spell it out for me. are you suggesting that the onion has never, under any circumstances, been funny and therefore are guilty of having pretentious opinions that are "not funny", which makes them bad? Or is it that you're suggesting that you are the sole arbiter of what is and isn't funny, so you're the only person who gets to determine the worth of specific types of humor? Sorry, I have a hard time distinguishing which type of childish, smug bullshit I'm dealing with, so any help you can provide would be appreciated.

In any case, I've never laughed as hard at anything Lenny fucking Bruce said as I did at The Onions "Sony Releases Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work" bit. So if you've got some favorite bruce bits, I'd love to get educated on what is hilarious about 60 year old observational standup.

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#358

Post by GJim »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #261
Intermernet wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many US citizens didn't get that Starship Troopers was a black comedy. There are serious video reviews taking it seriously as an action movie where the characters are true US heroes. I have a feeling these people are the same as the ones you're talking about.

I agree. RoboCop also belongs to the not-obvious-to-some-satire club.

In the words of Barry Humphries:

If you have to explain satire to someone, you might as well give up.

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#359

Post by zetanor »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #348
bko wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, most of the arguments have been basically "do anything" hysterics that are divorced from reality. For instance, much focus is given on rifles, specifically big black scary looking rifles. In reality if you look at murder rates by weapon type Handguns: ~45–50% Firearm (type unknown): ~20–25% Rifles: ~2–3% Shotguns: ~1–2% Knives / cutting instruments: ~10–12% Blunt objects (clubs, hammers, etc.): ~3–5% Hands,…

"…much focus is given on rifles, specifically big black scary looking rifles" Military-style rifles designed primarily for killing humans? That's called a low hanging fruit. If the U.S. can't even restrict those I expect everything else to be a wasted effort.

Military-style ARPANET designed primarily for nuclear warfare?

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#360

Post by HarHarVeryFunny »

delis-thumbs-7e wrote: post #59
clejack wrote: post #22

I watched this movie really late. Let's say within the past 2 years or so. After watching it, all I could think was, "This isn't a comedy, it's a tragedy." It felt way too close to home.

I refuse to watch it. I really like most Mike Judge’s stuff, but this I just don’t want to see and think those thoughts. I know we live in a dystopic satire of existence, you don’t have to show me. Now please let me take these new cybernetic info drugs and let me crawl into a hole sleep shielded from the Neon-Tokyo’s toxic rain.

There's obviously some truth to the premis, but no need to take it any more seriously than Beavis and Butthead.
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