4 ms·

There is a prevailing contempt these days for less intelligent and less educated people, that is very unseemly and disheartening.

by ta8645 4y ago

dotancohen 4y ago
Such contempt is not unique to "these days". And for what it's worth, there is no less contempt for the educated, never mind the intelligent, among those subcultures who praise and harvest ignorance.
- Barrin92 4y ago
  >Such contempt is not unique to "these days" It certainly is among otherwise self-declared tolerant people. The Atlantic wrote a great piece a few years ago called 'The War on Stupid people', pointing out that in communities that have strict rules of conduct concerning just about any form of discrimination, you'll find people casually joking about 'darwin awards' when some stupid person dies a grueling death. Imagine you'd introduce one for obese people in a tolerant, young internet community. Intelligence is increasingly conflated with human worth, and people who scoff at every form of inequality these days will gladly make an exception for intelligence, calling it meritocratic. The word itself is a good indicator of the change in attitude, given that Michael Young who coined it did so for satirical purposes, describing a future British society that is governed by an undemocratic elite selected through IQ tests.
  - KerrAvon 4y ago
    No, I don’t buy it. What defines “smart” in those communities in the first place?
swayvil 4y ago
In the past our stories had "the wise fool" and "the noble pauper". We don't really do that now. All of our heros are rich, smart and beautiful. It's a crassification no doubt. Maybe a shift in the target demographic is to blame.
aldebran 4y ago
Is that the case? My experience is that many people am have less patience for people who are willfully ignorant and intentionally anti-intelligence and anti-progress. Given the political climate, at least in the US, would you blame them? In my experience, I find people more understanding than ever about genuine medical issues and things that aren’t choices that someone has made - something they’re born with. I think the two are very different.
samhyde69 4y ago

There is a prevailing contempt these days for less intelligent and less educated people, that is very unseemly and disheartening.

by ta8645 4y ago

There is a prevailing contempt these days for less intelligent and less educated people, that is very unseemly and disheartening.

dotancohen 4y ago

Such contempt is not unique to "these days". And for what it's worth, there is no less contempt for the educated, never mind the intelligent, among those subcultures who praise and harvest ignorance.

Barrin92 4y ago
>Such contempt is not unique to "these days" It certainly is among otherwise self-declared tolerant people. The Atlantic wrote a great piece a few years ago called 'The War on Stupid people', pointing out that in communities that have strict rules of conduct concerning just about any form of discrimination, you'll find people casually joking about 'darwin awards' when some stupid person dies a grueling death. Imagine you'd introduce one for obese people in a tolerant, young internet community. Intelligence is increasingly conflated with human worth, and people who scoff at every form of inequality these days will gladly make an exception for intelligence, calling it meritocratic. The word itself is a good indicator of the change in attitude, given that Michael Young who coined it did so for satirical purposes, describing a future British society that is governed by an undemocratic elite selected through IQ tests.
- KerrAvon 4y ago
  No, I don’t buy it. What defines “smart” in those communities in the first place?

swayvil 4y ago

In the past our stories had "the wise fool" and "the noble pauper". We don't really do that now. All of our heros are rich, smart and beautiful. It's a crassification no doubt. Maybe a shift in the target demographic is to blame.

aldebran 4y ago

Is that the case? My experience is that many people am have less patience for people who are willfully ignorant and intentionally anti-intelligence and anti-progress. Given the political climate, at least in the US, would you blame them? In my experience, I find people more understanding than ever about genuine medical issues and things that aren’t choices that someone has made - something they’re born with. I think the two are very different.

samhyde69 4y ago