Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

Stupid Is the New Smart


Ace-Garageguy

Recommended Posts

58 minutes ago, dieseldawg142 said:

I consider myself reasonably un-stupid, and that there is some of the most realistic, accurate, funny programming on tv

over 50, boy is a teen, we watch this all the time, nuthin better ever on.... 

Same situation here. Watching Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, Segar-produced Popeye, Woody Woodpecker, etc. requires knowledge of history and cultural trends contemporaneous with the storylines. More than a few people watch them and laugh without understanding  the inside jokes tossed in as background images or in the dialogue. A regular bunch of ta-ra-ra-goon-dee-ays, I'd say. Tex Avery was a genius.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, SfanGoch said:

Same situation here. Watching Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, Segar-produced Popeye, Woody Woodpecker, etc. requires knowledge of history and cultural trends contemporaneous with the storylines. 

Rocky & Bullwinkle definitely fit into this conversation. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Anybody remember MST3K? Loads of cultural and historical references that went over the heads of most of the audience too.

There's even an "annotated" version available on youboob that explains what's funny and why.

Geez.

Long time fan... love the mix of cheesy movies and humor.   I've been watching the Riff Trax series for a while also, same people. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are some more modern cartoons that I enjoy watching that make a lot of allusions to people and events.... In Ed, Edd and Eddy, Eddy calls Ed 'Charlie "Bird-Brain" Parker' once when he's trying to play the trumpet. Chowder is notorious for breaking the "forth wall", which is lost on a lot of folks...... and FlapJack is just brilliant all around!  :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MST3K... One of my absolute favourites! Still keeping me in stitches after all these years, even the old ones. I can watch the older movies over and still find something new and hilarious. I find after suggesting it to people most don't get it, make of that what you will. Went with my wife to the live tour this year and met Joel Hodgson and the current host Jonah Ray.

IMG_20170715_171035364_HDR_1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/14/2017 at 3:20 PM, Mike C said:

Plus there are flat earthers. Those people literally are too stupid to know they are stupid. AND they think they are smart. Like they know global earth is a conspiracy. LOL.

But they are smart enough to create computer animations of their view about how the universe behaves.  From what I understand, some of their beliefs are based on religion (even though the Catholic religion has long abandoned the idea that the flat earth is the center of the universe).  I wonder how these people explained the recent full solar eclipse?  Another conspiracy?

Then, as already mentioned, there are individuals believing that humans never landed on the moon.  They supposedly have plenty of proof (including photographic evidence) that it was all faked on earth.  Plus no human can supposedly survive in outer space (beyond the Van Allen Belt).  My co-worker (whom I consider intelligent but odd) is one of those not believing in the moon landing. But he is not a flat-earther.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not necessarily a new phenomenon.

In our hallway by the front door we have this poem written in beautiful calligraphy by my sister:

In my heart hate abounds

I seethe with it on every occasion

Since I've taken to hating fools

I hate almost everybody

- Jacques de Cailly, 1677.

Present company excepted of course;)

Edited by DonW
Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, DonW said:

It's not necessarily a new phenomenon...

Entirely true.

But the Postmodern bleating-sheep doctrine that teaches that everyone's a winner, and that absolutes like objective truth, beauty and intelligence are obsolete and arbitrary societal constructs, and the wide audience that complete fools have been able to reach over the internet, have combined to give Stupid a kind of mass appeal and power never before seen in the history of Humankind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sometimes I miss the internet of 25-30 years ago when it was mostly only academics and techies online..though I don't miss the slowness of dialup or the largely text-only world of the internet before the web.   There were crackpots online also, then also...lots of crazy stuff on the old usenet newsgroups back then. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Related image

One interesting fact is that some thinking psychologists and sociologists (the ones who don't mindlessly parrot what everyone else says) are now proclaiming that the "everyone's a winner" claptrap is in fact undermining the value of achievement, and in the process, is undermining REAL self esteem...exactly the opposite effect it was supposedly intended to have.

De-valuing accomplishment instills a "why bother" attitude in the more capable, and tends to make idiots believe they aren't idiots...and gets more and more idiots in positions or power and responsibility, where they can do real damage.

An idiot who thinks he's smart because his self-esteem has been artificially bolstered, and who's accepted as being smart because of his meaningless "successes" is NO substitute for someone who is actually capable, competent and works hard for his rewards.

Remember kids, all anyone has to do to see the validity of this statement is to look around and apply a little critical thinking. It's FUN !!!   :D

 

Edited by Ace-Garageguy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread reminds me of a favorite quote from Col. Robert G. Ingersoll:  "In nature, there are no rewards or punishments. Only consequences."

As a geezer myself, I'll defend some of the Millennials.  A quick internet cruise tells me that as of 2015, they made up about 2/3 of DOD active-duty personnel.  Six people in that age group have won the Medal of Honor in Iraq or Afghanistan.  Four won it posthumously. 

Other than that, I agree with most of this thread. Especially the dumbing down of the History Channel etc. with an endless parade of reality shows.  One recent news report made me LOL:  the Long Island Grifter...er, Long Island Psychic, Theresa Caputo is divorcing.  Wonder if she saw that coming? 

MST3K:  still a big fan.  Think I have every episode + all the "shorts," except for one very early show from KTMA-TV.  I hold my own personal Turkey Day Marathon every Thanksgiving weekend.  One of my favorites is still "Giant Gila Monster," where you can see something truly amazing - unwarped PMC promos!

Edited by Mike999
omit
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, Mike999 said:

One recent news report made me LOL:  the Long Island Grifter...er, Long Island Psychic, Theresa Caputo is divorcing.  Wonder if she saw that coming? 

 

Have never seen a whole show, but I've walked in on The Lovely Mrs. Snake watching it a few times. I don't think she's that big on predicting the future; she seems to be into communicating with the Dear Departed. Two different psychic specialties, I believe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Mike999 said:

...As a geezer myself, I'll defend some of the Millennials...

The intent here was not to disparage the entire millennial generation, but only those people of ANY generation who choose to live in ignorance.

Though there is a marked tendency for many millennials to fit this stereotype, to take the easy first answer that Google vomits up as gospel, rather than taking the time to read and learn something of the subject so they can judge the VALIDITY of Google's information, there's no shortage of intellectual laziness in EVERY generation.

And any responsibility the millennial generation has in having a skewed world-view must be shared by the several generations that preceded them. Millennials did not spring forth fully formed, like Athena from the head of Zeus. The shortsighted, selfish, lazy and weak ones are the result of failed parenting and schooling by their elders.

Parents who were so busy chasing the status symbols of two BMWs in front of the $500,000 house that they didn't have time to teach values, manners, and morality, but instead just parked the kids somewhere they wouldn't be too much trouble, are some of the ones to blame. At the other end of the socioeconomic spectrum, parents who have no significant education and don't value knowledge are hardly in a position to impart a desire to learn in their offspring either.

Whatever failings the millennials may have are only the consequences of the failures of their forebears.

 

Edited by Ace-Garageguy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...