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I've also thought about this, why most terrorists are so dumb. I think it's because if they were smart, they would realize how hard it is to get away with it.

I've also thought about this, why most terrorists are so dumb. I think it's because if they were smart, they would realize how hard it is to get away with it. This is literally one of the few criminal acts where no expenses will be spared in catching the perps. Also, smart people tend to do something with their life, so they are less inclined to be attracted by terrorism. Regarding Ross, once they figured out his name, it was over for him, USBKill or not.

uCantCauseUCant 6y ago
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/magazine/12FOB-IdeaLab-t.html https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/magazine/12FOB-IdeaLab-t....
bryanrasmussen 6y ago
>I've also thought about this, why most terrorists are so dumb. My theory is that when a terrorist does a stupid thing there are millions of dollars available, and thousands of people trained and ready, to take advantage of that stupidity. When we do something stupid a couple people might point at us and say slightly mean things. Everyone is stupid at least a few times a day.
082349872349872 6y ago
On the bright side, an attested (N=1) method for de-radicalising former terrorists has been simply hooking them up. They may be dumb, but they're not stupid: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/12/all-you-need-is-love/302351/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/12/all-you...
- tremon 6y ago
  So we must sacrifice one person to save many?
  - 082349872349872 6y ago
    Sacrifice? Former elite terrorists probably get bad boy points. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl in possession of a beautiful visage, must be in want of a boy ... of whom she may confidently boast "I'll alter him." (not, as I must mistakenly have misheard at my marriage, as "aisle, altar, hymn")
  - yowlingcat 6y ago
    What makes you think it's a sacrifice rather than a reverse proselytization (or de-radicalization as some call it)?
  - 082349872349872 6y ago
    For the flagger: quoting the opening line of Pride and Prejudice is simply a more verbose way to say /s. (I have double checked, and all three of google, weibo, and yandex pull Austen up as the top hit for the key phrase.)
seleniumBubbles 6y ago
Public perception about the average intelligence of any type of criminal is likely influenced by survivorship bias: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias
thinkingemote 6y ago
Also note that criminals are the ones who failed. We don't get to see how the successful ones are. Same with terrorists.
- WJW 6y ago
  Unlike most other crimes, a terrorist act that goes unnoticed is almost by definition unsuccessful.
  - a1369209993 6y ago
    Well, there's a conspicuously unoccupied middle ground between the two, but if the terrorist's goal is only to inflict harm, without necessarily revealing the reason or taking credit, they would presumably prefer their actions to look like a natural disaster, riot, (industrial/medical/etc) accident, forest fire, or other non-deliberate and/or non-planned event.
    - goto11 6y ago
      That is not terrorism though. The point of terrorism is to achieve political goals by spreading fear.
      - a1369209993 6y ago
        That's true by definition, sure, but that's not how governments actually use the word.
      - Teever 6y ago
        How would causing a riot not achieve political goals by spreading fear?
fitbitq 6y ago
"Also, smart people tend to do something with their life," Dunno. The Unabomber had probably a higher IQ than most people on hackernews. And on a side note: who cares about James bond? It is always the villain who makes or breaks a James bond movie. I am actually sad that Jet Lee never played the villain.
heimatau 6y ago
Your comment was extremely insightful. Thank you for this. I rarely favorite (to be fair I only knew about it recently) but...your comment is in my favorites.
mercer 6y ago
I dunno. I believe it's actually pretty easy to get away with lots of crime. It's just that the smart ones don't get caught. > Also, smart people tend to do something with their life, so they are less inclined to be attracted by terrorism. that probably plays a role. And they are perhaps more likely to consider the ethical dimension.

uCantCauseUCant 6y ago

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/magazine/12FOB-IdeaLab-t.html https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/magazine/12FOB-IdeaLab-t....

bryanrasmussen 6y ago

>I've also thought about this, why most terrorists are so dumb. My theory is that when a terrorist does a stupid thing there are millions of dollars available, and thousands of people trained and ready, to take advantage of that stupidity. When we do something stupid a couple people might point at us and say slightly mean things. Everyone is stupid at least a few times a day.

082349872349872 6y ago

On the bright side, an attested (N=1) method for de-radicalising former terrorists has been simply hooking them up. They may be dumb, but they're not stupid: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/12/all-you-need-is-love/302351/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/12/all-you...

tremon 6y ago
So we must sacrifice one person to save many?
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  Sacrifice? Former elite terrorists probably get bad boy points. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl in possession of a beautiful visage, must be in want of a boy ... of whom she may confidently boast "I'll alter him." (not, as I must mistakenly have misheard at my marriage, as "aisle, altar, hymn")
- yowlingcat 6y ago
  What makes you think it's a sacrifice rather than a reverse proselytization (or de-radicalization as some call it)?
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  For the flagger: quoting the opening line of Pride and Prejudice is simply a more verbose way to say /s. (I have double checked, and all three of google, weibo, and yandex pull Austen up as the top hit for the key phrase.)

seleniumBubbles 6y ago

Public perception about the average intelligence of any type of criminal is likely influenced by survivorship bias: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias

thinkingemote 6y ago

Also note that criminals are the ones who failed. We don't get to see how the successful ones are. Same with terrorists.

WJW 6y ago
Unlike most other crimes, a terrorist act that goes unnoticed is almost by definition unsuccessful.
- a1369209993 6y ago
  Well, there's a conspicuously unoccupied middle ground between the two, but if the terrorist's goal is only to inflict harm, without necessarily revealing the reason or taking credit, they would presumably prefer their actions to look like a natural disaster, riot, (industrial/medical/etc) accident, forest fire, or other non-deliberate and/or non-planned event.
  - goto11 6y ago
    That is not terrorism though. The point of terrorism is to achieve political goals by spreading fear.
    - a1369209993 6y ago
      That's true by definition, sure, but that's not how governments actually use the word.
    - Teever 6y ago
      How would causing a riot not achieve political goals by spreading fear?

fitbitq 6y ago

"Also, smart people tend to do something with their life," Dunno. The Unabomber had probably a higher IQ than most people on hackernews. And on a side note: who cares about James bond? It is always the villain who makes or breaks a James bond movie. I am actually sad that Jet Lee never played the villain.

heimatau 6y ago

Your comment was extremely insightful. Thank you for this. I rarely favorite (to be fair I only knew about it recently) but...your comment is in my favorites.

mercer 6y ago

I dunno. I believe it's actually pretty easy to get away with lots of crime. It's just that the smart ones don't get caught. > Also, smart people tend to do something with their life, so they are less inclined to be attracted by terrorism. that probably plays a role. And they are perhaps more likely to consider the ethical dimension.