4 ms·

I disagree. Idiocracy IMHO was designed to show one possible result - in satirical form - of the race to the bottom that we see every day. If it's a "cheap way

I disagree. Idiocracy IMHO was designed to show one possible result - in satirical form - of the race to the bottom that we see every day. If it's a "cheap way to feel smart", then perhaps those that feel smart merely by watching the movie don't realize they are part of it. Others don't need to feel smart, and simply find it funny and disquieting. I thought it was a brilliant satire when I watched it some years ago.

coldpie 9y ago
By any measure, people are smarter today than they ever have been in the past.
- dr_ick 9y ago
  I suspect we are better educated overall, but people are not "smarter". http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/are-you-smarter-than-your-grandfather-probably-not-150402883/ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/are-you-smarter...
PhasmaFelis 9y ago
> I disagree. Idiocracy IMHO was designed to show one possible result - in satirical form - of the race to the bottom that we see every day. It's pretty disturbing that it explicitly endorses eugenics to do that, though. Edit: If you disagree, please explain how "the world is going to hell because stupid people are breeding too much" isn't eugenics.
- udfalkso 9y ago
  Perhaps they would encourage smart people to go against their instincts and breed more.
  - PhasmaFelis 9y ago
    That's eugenics, yes. And, just to be clear, it wouldn't actually work, because the whole decline-of-society thing that we're annoyed about is cultural, not genetic, and doesn't work the way you think it does. https://xkcd.com/603/ https://xkcd.com/603/
- CamperBob2 9y ago
  That's not the definition of eugenics. Eugenics implies taking deliberate action to influence the gene pool in a direction that you believe/hope will be beneficial.
- psyc 9y ago
  Because eugenics means doing something about it, usually with state power. Also, eugenics is the negation of the movie's premise, not the movie's premise.

coldpie 9y ago

By any measure, people are smarter today than they ever have been in the past.

dr_ick 9y ago
I suspect we are better educated overall, but people are not "smarter". http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/are-you-smarter-than-your-grandfather-probably-not-150402883/ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/are-you-smarter...

PhasmaFelis 9y ago

> I disagree. Idiocracy IMHO was designed to show one possible result - in satirical form - of the race to the bottom that we see every day. It's pretty disturbing that it explicitly endorses eugenics to do that, though. Edit: If you disagree, please explain how "the world is going to hell because stupid people are breeding too much" isn't eugenics.

udfalkso 9y ago
Perhaps they would encourage smart people to go against their instincts and breed more.
- PhasmaFelis 9y ago
  That's eugenics, yes. And, just to be clear, it wouldn't actually work, because the whole decline-of-society thing that we're annoyed about is cultural, not genetic, and doesn't work the way you think it does. https://xkcd.com/603/ https://xkcd.com/603/
CamperBob2 9y ago
That's not the definition of eugenics. Eugenics implies taking deliberate action to influence the gene pool in a direction that you believe/hope will be beneficial.
psyc 9y ago
Because eugenics means doing something about it, usually with state power. Also, eugenics is the negation of the movie's premise, not the movie's premise.