4 ms·

So your world view is that Harvard professors are eveil and stupid, NY Times reporters are evil and stupid, most modern people are stupid, software engineers ar

So your world view is that Harvard professors are eveil and stupid, NY Times reporters are evil and stupid, most modern people are stupid, software engineers are stupid, PhDs are stupid, doctors are stupid, lawyers are stupid, no one has taken advice from their grandmother since 1785, and no one reads the Bible anymore. Is it possible that becoming an MD might require a base level of mental capabilities and hard work? Is it possible that becoming a Harvard professor in their Math or CS department requires a big helping of skill, work, and luck? Is it possible that passing the Bar exam requires, if not a genius intellect, at least a base level of intellectual capability? Is it possible that all these people you disparage are actually just normal humans doing a pretty decent job at playing a small productive role in running society? More importantly: do you feel this way about the actual people that surround you -- your significant other, your in-laws, your old school friends, your coworkers, etc.? If so, please talk with a therapist (or your grandmother) about these feelings. This isn't meant in any way as an attack or belittlement. It's meant as genuine advice. Feeling like everyone around you is evil and stupid isn't healthy.

googthrowaway42 6y ago
You're speaking in very black and white terms, but yes in general that is my view and like all historical trends these things tend to decrease or increase in their effect over time. It's not a binary thing. Certainly I am saying that the number of people who read the Bible has decreased as a percentage of the population substantially since 1785. > Is it possible that becoming an MD might require a base level of mental capabilities and hard work? As an example of what I'm talking about, back in March/February all of the nurses and doctors I know were saying that Covid-19 was just the flu and that only medical professionals should wear a mask. I even reached out to one or two of them to try to give them more of a heads up. This was at the same time that videos were coming out of China with vast stadiums filled with sick people and where people were committing suicide rather than infect their family. Now all of those same medical professionals I know are saying that Covid-19 is extremely serious and that everyone should stay home when possible and wear a mask despite the fact that clearly the risk level is a lot lower now. Here where I live Covid-19 primarily attacks the GI like a typical stomach bug rather than as a serious respiratory illness. > Feeling like everyone around you is evil and stupid isn't healthy. Again you are imputing a black and white meaning to what I am saying when it was never said or implied. Certainly if one were living in Nazi Germany in the 1930s or the Soviet Union in the 1920s it would be reasonable for one to feel like generally speaking, "everyone around" was evil and/or stupid. Are things that bad here? Absolutely not however we are much closer to living in that kind of environment in the US than we were at the beginning of the 20th century. You have a very typical midwit view on this. I do genuinely feel bad for people that are so naive.
- throwawaygh 6y ago
  > 6. They’re not getting stupider; I’m just getting more conceited. This seems like the most likely explanation in your case.
  - googthrowaway42 6y ago
    What I'm expressing is not a novel or unique perspective. This is a very basic critique of modernity.
    - throwawaygh 6y ago
      “You are a midwit” is not a critique. It’s just name-calling. I suppose I somehow agree that name calling is a common critique of pretty much anything. More importantly, it also shuts down conversations. Behaving like you’re the only non-idiot in the room makes you an unpleasant interlocutor. Consider the possibility that the people you interact with and think are midwits are actually intelligent but are optimizing for “have as short an interaction with this unpleasant egomaniac as possible without being unpleasant myself”. Particularly irl. I’m still interacting with you because I hope you realize that your dismissal of basically every accomplished person in society as a midwit might have more to do with your insecurities than the broad structure of society, and that your obsession with this insecurity is eroding your long-term relationships. I have old close friends who talk and think like you are in this thread, and their attitude toward others has turned them into lonely old men. It’s sad.

googthrowaway42 6y ago

You're speaking in very black and white terms, but yes in general that is my view and like all historical trends these things tend to decrease or increase in their effect over time. It's not a binary thing. Certainly I am saying that the number of people who read the Bible has decreased as a percentage of the population substantially since 1785. > Is it possible that becoming an MD might require a base level of mental capabilities and hard work? As an example of what I'm talking about, back in March/February all of the nurses and doctors I know were saying that Covid-19 was just the flu and that only medical professionals should wear a mask. I even reached out to one or two of them to try to give them more of a heads up. This was at the same time that videos were coming out of China with vast stadiums filled with sick people and where people were committing suicide rather than infect their family. Now all of those same medical professionals I know are saying that Covid-19 is extremely serious and that everyone should stay home when possible and wear a mask despite the fact that clearly the risk level is a lot lower now. Here where I live Covid-19 primarily attacks the GI like a typical stomach bug rather than as a serious respiratory illness. > Feeling like everyone around you is evil and stupid isn't healthy. Again you are imputing a black and white meaning to what I am saying when it was never said or implied. Certainly if one were living in Nazi Germany in the 1930s or the Soviet Union in the 1920s it would be reasonable for one to feel like generally speaking, "everyone around" was evil and/or stupid. Are things that bad here? Absolutely not however we are much closer to living in that kind of environment in the US than we were at the beginning of the 20th century. You have a very typical midwit view on this. I do genuinely feel bad for people that are so naive.

throwawaygh 6y ago
> 6. They’re not getting stupider; I’m just getting more conceited. This seems like the most likely explanation in your case.
- googthrowaway42 6y ago
  What I'm expressing is not a novel or unique perspective. This is a very basic critique of modernity.
  - throwawaygh 6y ago
    “You are a midwit” is not a critique. It’s just name-calling. I suppose I somehow agree that name calling is a common critique of pretty much anything. More importantly, it also shuts down conversations. Behaving like you’re the only non-idiot in the room makes you an unpleasant interlocutor. Consider the possibility that the people you interact with and think are midwits are actually intelligent but are optimizing for “have as short an interaction with this unpleasant egomaniac as possible without being unpleasant myself”. Particularly irl. I’m still interacting with you because I hope you realize that your dismissal of basically every accomplished person in society as a midwit might have more to do with your insecurities than the broad structure of society, and that your obsession with this insecurity is eroding your long-term relationships. I have old close friends who talk and think like you are in this thread, and their attitude toward others has turned them into lonely old men. It’s sad.