Idiocracy

[Wells]

Look at test scores if nothing else. Kids today by and large are dumber than they were just 15-20 years ago.

What are you referring to here?

[Teroseth]

I don't think Idiocracy (though a fine movie) will happen simply because intelligence is not purely down to education. A person can be crafty, cunning, incisive and ruthlessly practical and logical especially growing up in shitty places where they have to be smart to survive their shitty upbringing. Intelligence isn't purely innate, nor is it something that is entirely taught.

[Deleted]

If that ever happens we can just get rid of welfare and starve those dumb fucks to death in a matter of weeks, problem solved.

[Wells]

If that ever happens we can just get rid of welfare and starve those dumb fucks to death in a matter of weeks, problem solved.

And then watch everything go to shit when everyone realizes they now have no one to pick food, clean their shit, or work in their stores.

[xylophone]

And then watch everything go to shit when everyone realizes they now have no one to pick food, clean their shit, or work in their stores.

More like watch everything go to shit while said ppl go crazy and loot/steal everything.

[Teroseth]

i beleive well breed out the intelligence...its already happening

Jersey Shore
Teen mom
almost ANYthing on MTV or VH1 any more
i mean THE LEARNING CHANNEL(TLC) hosts a fat retarded disgusting pig of a child on there who needs foodpoisening and to be sterilised so those gawd aweful genes dont polute the gene pool any more then what it is

Because every piece of entertainment in the past was highly educational and thoroughly high brow? You're being awfully selective and cynical, yes those shows exist, there's probably even worse shows, but here's the thing, there was stupidity back in times past. Look at vaudeville, for every set of Marx brothers, there were ten acts about "catching" farts and throwing them about on stage. For Every Shakespearean masterpiece, there were a dozen bawdy plays about the Queen of England's tits. It's great looking back because you can select the best parts of humanity, and say well look, they were clearly more advanced, and smarter overall because such and such a thing was happening, say for instance, the industrial revolution...and that's great, because it was a good and fantastic time and advances were made...on the other hand, alcoholism and prostitution were rampant because most of the population were too downtrodden and revelling in stupidity to do anything else. When people in the future look back do you think their going to judge us on the worst of ourselves? Or are they going to be looking at bill gates and steve jobs and saying "you kids today are so stupid! look at you, 21 years of age and you don't own your own multi-billion company?! way to innovate, asshats!" of course they'll (mostly) be looking at the best of us. Intelligence won't be bred out of humanity, it's our defining trait, sure there'll be stupid people, even a lot of them, but there always has been and there always will be.

[mvaliz]

As amused as I was with Idiocracy - and as much as I see signs all around me that it's happening... I also rest assure that Idiocracy is not happening around the whole world. I feel my country of America has that potential fate... and honestly I don't think things will get that bad. Nobody is going to be fine with a mountain of trash breaking into their bedroom... and people do, in fact, have a breaking point.

---------- Post added 2013-02-07 at 02:58 AM ----------

Look at test scores if nothing else. Kids today by and large are dumber than they were just 15-20 years ago.

They're not dumber... it just seems that way because you interact with them more thanks to internet forums such as this one. :P

[Stormspellz]

Let's not get into the whole nature vs. nurture crap shall we? Plenty of evidence out there to support the fact that children of college graduates are more likely to attend secondary education themselves.

and economic along with a more enriched environment growing up would have nothing to do with that?

[Ahveros]

People tend to be rather cynical about their fellow humans. It's like plane crashes. Some people think airplanes are dangerous because they are on the news often after crashing. That doesn't mean they crash a lot...they just make good news when they do. probably because it is so uncommon given the number of flights daily in the US.

It's the same with dumb people. A dumb person saying stupid shit is far more entertaining then a person using reason and making valid points. Stupid people frustrate us, and we like that. I think most people are reasonably smart, though.

There are, however, plenty of times when otherwise intelligent people leave their comfort zone and then appear dumb.

I agree, when I worked in retail at Lowes I often forgot a lot things such as department/item locations throughout the store. Employees often mistook me as an idiot because every time a customer asked me where a specific item was I would have to point them to a different employee so they could get the correct answer. When it came to working the register, and it was the most outdated register system, I had no problem memorizing all the commands and choices to navigate for all the different departments but when it came to memorizing where certain items where I was clueless. It wasn't until I started doing my computer programming homework during my lunch break that they realized that maybe I wasn't so dumb after all. If there's anything I learned in psychology it's that there are different forms of intelligence. A mechanic may know everything about your car and know exactly whats wrong with it just by listening to it run but may be completely clueless when it comes to other subjects. When it comes down to it, if it's not computers and video games then I'm not of much use to anyone.

People need to look at the world outside the tv screen and see for themselves whether or not the world is as dumb as the media potrays it to be. You'd be surprised at how many intelligent people you meet.

[Neodawn]

The breeding out of intelligence is not only happening now but will continue to worsen, at least in the U.S.

[Jaxi]

The breeding out of intelligence is not only happening now but will continue to worsen, at least in the U.S.

This was actually talked about on Through the Wormhole briefly. The doctor they interviewed came out with a book showing quite the opposite, that humans are getting more intelligent. I'll try to find it.

[stuck4cash]

It's possible for 2 short(er) people to have a child that is tall(er than them at least). The same goes with intelligence and every other genetic anomaly.

You can't "breed out" intelligence any more than you can breed out height or blondes or blue eyes or anything else.

[Seegtease]

Such a thing couldn't happen, not to the degree shown in the movie.

Of course not, the country would collapse and turn into bandits and brigands. There would be no structure, and people would lack the very things that made them stupid according to the movie (such as too much TV).

Even if brains are inherited (either by genes or by advantage), and even if stupid people breed more, it's survival of the fittest. They'd just... die. There is a limit on what the stupid/smart ratio would be before the smart could no longer sustain the lives of the stupid.

[sandmoth12]

I think the whole idiocracy thing has it backwards. If anything our modern society, with all it's technological marvels, is forcing people get smart to be able to live in our world. The days of living off the land or in a cave are disappearing.

The problem with this thread is most people think other are idiots, but in reality they probably do similar things. They just do not reflect enough upon their own actions to see it.

[Seegtease]

I think the whole idiocracy thing has it backwards. If anything our modern society, with all it's technological marvels, is forcing people get smart to be able to live in our world. The days of living off the land or in a cave are disappearing.

The problem with this thread is most people think other are idiots, but in reality they probably do similar things. They just do not reflect enough upon their own actions to see it.

The thing is, we need to keep our idiots, because until we have perfected robots, we still need grunts!

[Zethras]

It's possible for 2 short(er) people to have a child that is tall(er than them at least). The same goes with intelligence and every other genetic anomaly.

You can't "breed out" intelligence any more than you can breed out height or blondes or blue eyes or anything else.

While I agree that intelligence can't be "bred out", physical attributes such as blonde hair or blue eyes can be, it just takes a really, REALLY long time, and many generations.

[Thrive]

Let's not get into the whole nature vs. nurture crap shall we? Plenty of evidence out there to support the fact that children of college graduates are more likely to attend secondary education themselves.

Because their parents tend to be wealthier and therefore able pay for it. It's not genetic, rather social Darwinism.
Or it could be attributed to that anyway.

[xylophone]

While I agree that intelligence can't be "bred out", physical attributes such as blonde hair or blue eyes can be, it just takes a really, REALLY long time, and many generations.

I heard somewhere that redheads are gonna be extinct within 3 generations or something.

[Deleted]

I'm sorry but people that can't afford to support themselves and the family they have, leading them to require financial aid, should be forced to take doctor-administered contraception while they're claiming benefits and until they're in a position where they can support them.

[pkm]

Can't watch it at work. Is this the movie with dax shepherd?