5 ms·

eh. that’s about what i think. and not just about computer skills. driving skills basic reading comprehension the ability to think more than one step ahead

eh. that’s about what i think. and not just about computer skills. driving skills basic reading comprehension the ability to think more than one step ahead i know it’s not going to be a popular opinion, but yes most people are stupid.

umvi 7y ago
> but yes most people are stupid Which is why democracy is so terrifying sometimes
throwaway9980 7y ago
Half of all people are below average...
- iamvik 7y ago
  no.. half of people are below the median.. I know it's a bit pedantic but in a thread making fun of stupid people lol
  - throwaway9980 7y ago
    Ha! It is, but “median” just doesn’t pack the same snarky punch.
  - dredmorbius 7y ago
    Median is an average. There are three generally used measures of central tendency: - The mean: the "arithmetic average", sum of observations divided by count. - The median: the central measure. The single value (or averaged pair) at the center point of an ordered listing. - The mode: the most frequently occurring measure. Sort a set of values by frequency, and pick the most frequent instance. Most people intend "mean" as "average", but that's not strictly the case. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average For our next pedant's corner post, we'll take on the distinction between descriptivist and prescriptivist definitions.
    - taneq 7y ago
      I have never, ever heard anyone colloquially use the word 'average' and mean anything except 'mean'.
      - confidantlake 7y ago
        I have heard it all the time for median. Average height, average wealth, ect.
        kortilla 7y ago
        But people usually are expecting mean in your two examples.
        confidantlake 7y ago
        I think they mean the median. Median income in a group of people is usually smaller than the mean becomes of extremely wealthy outliers. If someone says something about the "average person", they are not talking about the mean, they are talking about the median.
        taneq 7y ago
        It's possible that median is a better measure of central tendency for those things. It also sounds like you're interpreting their use of 'average' as meaning median when you think that would make more sense, rather than asking them (and in fairness, I don't usually grill people on which measure they're thinking of when they say 'average' either). In my experience, people who actually understand the different measures of central tendency usually (on average, heheh) specify one explicitly. The rest of the population is probably only aware of arithmetic mean.
  - mikeash 7y ago
    Intelligence is approximately a normal distribution so the mean and median are almost exactly the same.
AdieuToLogic 7y ago
> i know it’s not going to be a popular opinion, but yes most people are stupid. No, most people are not stupid. Ignorant or unskilled about many subjects? Sure, but we all are. Consider any speciality you like. There are those whom are Masters in it, fluent in its nuance and implication. And yet those same Masters are novices in most other domains. Are they stupid as well? To put a fine point on it, consider this haiku: Fishermen can fish, But if you want a new roof, Hire a carpenter.
- nitwit005 7y ago
  I wish the issue was that we all just have different specialties. I'm afraid that some people just struggle with everything.
  - AdieuToLogic 7y ago
    > I'm afraid that some people just struggle with everything. Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.[0] HTH 0 - https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/martin_luther_king_jr_164280 https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/martin_luther_king_jr_164...
ntlk 7y ago
They might not be stupid, but at any given time people might be any mixture of: distracted, anxious, in a hurry. I pay full attention when I’m using work software during a 2-hour block of focused time, but I’m really not doing that when ordering a passport online while trying to get on the train to make it to the restaurant on time.
jodrellblank 7y ago
It's not that it's an unpopular opinion; "hurr, everyone (except me) is dumb, lol" is extremely popular. But it isn't a good, useful, insightful comment.

umvi 7y ago

> but yes most people are stupid Which is why democracy is so terrifying sometimes

throwaway9980 7y ago

Half of all people are below average...

iamvik 7y ago
no.. half of people are below the median.. I know it's a bit pedantic but in a thread making fun of stupid people lol
- throwaway9980 7y ago
  Ha! It is, but “median” just doesn’t pack the same snarky punch.
- dredmorbius 7y ago
  Median is an average. There are three generally used measures of central tendency: - The mean: the "arithmetic average", sum of observations divided by count. - The median: the central measure. The single value (or averaged pair) at the center point of an ordered listing. - The mode: the most frequently occurring measure. Sort a set of values by frequency, and pick the most frequent instance. Most people intend "mean" as "average", but that's not strictly the case. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average For our next pedant's corner post, we'll take on the distinction between descriptivist and prescriptivist definitions.
  - taneq 7y ago
    I have never, ever heard anyone colloquially use the word 'average' and mean anything except 'mean'.
    - confidantlake 7y ago
      I have heard it all the time for median. Average height, average wealth, ect.
      - kortilla 7y ago
        But people usually are expecting mean in your two examples.
        confidantlake 7y ago
        I think they mean the median. Median income in a group of people is usually smaller than the mean becomes of extremely wealthy outliers. If someone says something about the "average person", they are not talking about the mean, they are talking about the median.
        taneq 7y ago
        It's possible that median is a better measure of central tendency for those things. It also sounds like you're interpreting their use of 'average' as meaning median when you think that would make more sense, rather than asking them (and in fairness, I don't usually grill people on which measure they're thinking of when they say 'average' either). In my experience, people who actually understand the different measures of central tendency usually (on average, heheh) specify one explicitly. The rest of the population is probably only aware of arithmetic mean.
- mikeash 7y ago
  Intelligence is approximately a normal distribution so the mean and median are almost exactly the same.

AdieuToLogic 7y ago

> i know it’s not going to be a popular opinion, but yes most people are stupid. No, most people are not stupid. Ignorant or unskilled about many subjects? Sure, but we all are. Consider any speciality you like. There are those whom are Masters in it, fluent in its nuance and implication. And yet those same Masters are novices in most other domains. Are they stupid as well? To put a fine point on it, consider this haiku: Fishermen can fish, But if you want a new roof, Hire a carpenter.

nitwit005 7y ago
I wish the issue was that we all just have different specialties. I'm afraid that some people just struggle with everything.
- AdieuToLogic 7y ago
  > I'm afraid that some people just struggle with everything. Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.[0] HTH 0 - https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/martin_luther_king_jr_164280 https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/martin_luther_king_jr_164...

ntlk 7y ago

They might not be stupid, but at any given time people might be any mixture of: distracted, anxious, in a hurry. I pay full attention when I’m using work software during a 2-hour block of focused time, but I’m really not doing that when ordering a passport online while trying to get on the train to make it to the restaurant on time.

jodrellblank 7y ago

It's not that it's an unpopular opinion; "hurr, everyone (except me) is dumb, lol" is extremely popular. But it isn't a good, useful, insightful comment.