Bonhoeffer‘s Theory of Stupidity

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  • Опубликовано: 24 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 16 тыс.

  • @sprouts
    @sprouts  3 месяца назад +32

    We made a book! The Unschooler’s Educational Dictionary. www.amazon.com/Unschoolers-Educational-Dictionary-Lighthearted-Curriculum-Free/dp/168481359X/ Secure your copy to discover a world beyond traditional schooling, revolutionize your understanding of education, and empower your approach to parenting and teaching. #unschooling

    • @01mustang05
      @01mustang05 3 месяца назад

      That was kind of ok until 2:18 when stupidity got really bad because children don't "allow" themselves to be harmed by one or more so-called caregivers & the majority letting & causing harm & worse to continue instead of ending this so-called way of life for an actual reasonable one. But you & the majority of people aren't going to understand this, are you? - Let alone a small group of people that is required to start ending this problem for what's good, decent, & right; right?
      SMH

    • @favorite2523
      @favorite2523 2 месяца назад +2

      I have seen this type of people in communist rule places 😂

    • @bloodmooncomix457
      @bloodmooncomix457 2 месяца назад +1

      CALIFORNIA CONSERVATIVE:
      So to be clear, we are talking about the entire Democratic party, right?! 🤔🙄😒😡💞🇺🇲

    • @klincos
      @klincos Месяц назад +6

      @@bloodmooncomix457oh dear you have things quite wrong. This is an example of the entire MAGA following Trump supporters. The fact that you can’t see it proves it.

    • @karelglasner2673
      @karelglasner2673 15 дней назад

      This describes perfectly Sonny Houston on The View 😂 slogans and one liners that are empty and without meaning 😂 Woke ideology aka Stupid

  • @greggrobinson5116
    @greggrobinson5116 3 года назад +7095

    The most important insight in this vid is that stupidity is essentially a moral failing more than an intellectual one. The failure is in believing things based on how they make us feel, rather than on their truthfulness. It puts "taste" above "nutritional value" and eventually we starve.

    • @craig328
      @craig328 3 года назад +260

      Outstanding synopsis. Hard to boil down what we're seeing these days into any more concentrated definition than this.

    • @RappingManualYT
      @RappingManualYT 3 года назад +108

      I'm writing this down - what a way to compress it all brother! Thank you for sharing this.

    • @HaydenDavidson6
      @HaydenDavidson6 3 года назад +42

    • @HaydenDavidson6
      @HaydenDavidson6 3 года назад +21

    • @scottemmer3301
      @scottemmer3301 3 года назад +31

      Brilliant, Gregg. Right on!

  • @lucykitty6492
    @lucykitty6492 14 дней назад +95

    This feels so relevant today. Oddly comforting.

    • @clairebeane3455
      @clairebeane3455 3 дня назад +1

      Right?! ❤💔❤

    • @heavypen
      @heavypen 2 дня назад +3

      Or deeply discomforting. Stuplicity (co-operative stupidity) scares the living daylights out of me.

    • @myguykaikai
      @myguykaikai 2 дня назад +4

      The exact opposite of comforting. Couldn’t possibly be less comforting knowing the current state of world politics.

    • @Jszar
      @Jszar 2 дня назад +2

      Always and forever relevant.

    • @mddell24
      @mddell24 2 дня назад +2

      I assume by " Oddly comforting." you surmise that having seen such before, we can have some familiarity with.
      I see it the opposite: It happened before and we had no way of stopping it then or now.

  • @mlu007
    @mlu007 3 года назад +9013

    Winning an argument against an intelligent person is very hard. Winning an argument against a stupid person is downright impossible.

    • @fredflintstone8998
      @fredflintstone8998 3 года назад +84

      Excellent!

    • @GjVj
      @GjVj 3 года назад

      lmao. Reminded me of something:
      ruclips.net/video/kGex0kLgNok/видео.html

    • @thequantumalchemist2965
      @thequantumalchemist2965 2 года назад +82

      lmao, so much truth in that quote.

    • @kalon227
      @kalon227 2 года назад +132

      Why do you talk about “winning?” I consider myself somewhat intelligent. I don’t want to always be in a “contest” to see which of us is the “smartest.” I want to hear ideas from you which I’ve never thought of. But then, perhaps rather than being the intellectually curious person I think I am, perhaps I’m that stupid person you found it impossible to “defeat.” Lol.

    • @GjVj
      @GjVj 2 года назад +61

      @@kalon227 Lol, agree. But, keyword: always. And, perhaps: want. You may not want, always, to be in a contest, but sometimes you are. How much the outcome matters, I'd offer, depends on what's at stake.

  • @missinterpretation4984
    @missinterpretation4984 14 дней назад +230

    This is literally about America right now.

    • @novak-wq9dw
      @novak-wq9dw 5 дней назад +8

      Ty, I was thinking the same.

    • @ΚλειώΑλκαίου
      @ΚλειώΑλκαίου 4 дня назад

      What do you mean? Who are the stupid ones?

    • @gaileverett
      @gaileverett 3 дня назад +1

      YES YES YES

    • @txkos
      @txkos 3 дня назад +8

      Sorry, it’s a world wide wave right now.

    • @robertmiller8823
      @robertmiller8823 3 дня назад

      ​@@ΚλειώΑλκαίου Republicans. The intellectual class does not fuck with neofascism.

  • @marlene-rr2ih
    @marlene-rr2ih 3 года назад +5097

    “Smart people learn from everything and everyone, average people from their experiences, stupid people already have all the answers.” - Socrates

    • @memeandtheworld
      @memeandtheworld 3 года назад +76

      What's true is true no matter who said it

    • @hunterroberts9951
      @hunterroberts9951 3 года назад +16

      @@erlinacobrado7947 How do you know? you must be one of those stupid people that has all the answers.

    • @hunterroberts9951
      @hunterroberts9951 3 года назад +3

      @@erlinacobrado7947 Here you go.
      ruclips.net/video/VR19h_X0B9w/видео.html

    • @hisinddjsomnsl
      @hisinddjsomnsl 3 года назад +23

      @@erlinacobrado7947 Marlene's pretty smart to be able to come up with that quote.

    • @DSAK55
      @DSAK55 3 года назад +100

      I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing - Socrates

  • @DemonDante1000
    @DemonDante1000 3 года назад +2307

    "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, while wiser people so full of doubts."
    Bertrand Russell.
    My favorite quote of all time

    • @MK-ih6wp
      @MK-ih6wp 3 года назад +54

      I love this one. As I grow older, everyday I realize there is so much I do not know, and how foolish I was in my younger years thinking otherwise.

    • @benoitquirion6810
      @benoitquirion6810 3 года назад +26

      another cute version of this is: Smarts got brains, but Dumbs got balls !

    • @jimcobb3275
      @jimcobb3275 3 года назад +21

      I don't really thinks it's a matter of full of doubts for many, but more a case of not wanting to offend the overly sensitive fools and fanatics who are either usually jealous or feel terribly inadequate already.

    • @jimcobb3275
      @jimcobb3275 3 года назад +23

      @@MK-ih6wp When I was 10 I knew everything. When I was 12 I realized that when I was 10 I knew nothing but now I knew everything. I came to that realization again at 15 and then again at 18 and 21. Then I began to realize that I never knew anything and in the grand scheme of things I probably never would. But in the grand scheme of things I believe I still know way more than most everyone I've ever known, which may not be saying much, but then everything is pretty much relative.

    • @miked6592
      @miked6592 3 года назад +23

      @@jimcobb3275 but that seems like you came full circle and missed the point.
      "You know way more than most everyone" is a bold claim and may be explained by the company you keep.

  • @WestCoastSwinger
    @WestCoastSwinger 3 года назад +2759

    "It is easier to fool someone, than to convince them they have been fooled” - Mark Twain

    • @uk2727
      @uk2727 3 года назад +87

      It is easier to fool oneself than to fool others. In other words, it is easy to see the stupidity of others but very difficult to see one's own stupidity.

    • @brianmi40
      @brianmi40 3 года назад +41

      You can motivate 1,000 people with lies that feed their biases, and only a handful with the truth.

    • @dirtrally2.091
      @dirtrally2.091 3 года назад +14

      @@brianmi40 Yes, to convince people to take the VACCINE is easy. To convince people that they have been fooled, is not easy!

    • @tonymp
      @tonymp 3 года назад +29

      The Trump presidency in a nutshell

    • @thorcook
      @thorcook 3 года назад +13

      What about fooling them into believing they've been fooled?

  • @mind-numbingtasks1575
    @mind-numbingtasks1575 10 месяцев назад +35

    Yep, this really is the biggest problem we face. If there isn't someone out there that wants to do you wrong deliberately, there is certainly an army of people that will cause you a lot of problems out of their sheer stupidity.

    • @darylfoster7944
      @darylfoster7944 7 месяцев назад +3

      See Covid for prime example

    • @patrickjenkins6383
      @patrickjenkins6383 3 месяца назад +4

      It is, of course rather one-sided on my part, but throughout the video, Trump's Maga supporters came to mind. 🤡🇺🇸

  • @dukeemzworth3005
    @dukeemzworth3005 3 года назад +918

    Trying to use reason and logic to argue with a stupid person is like playing chess with a pigeon. The pigeon just knocks all the pieces over, shits all over the board & then struts around like it has won.

    • @mistylover7398
      @mistylover7398 3 года назад +28

      Religious debates

    • @shadowlouise
      @shadowlouise 3 года назад +40

      ...and claims it is still POTUS because the game was rigged.

    • @gcgopro6912
      @gcgopro6912 3 года назад +5

      @@shadowlouise Sounds like the election!

    • @tonykelly5141
      @tonykelly5141 3 года назад +6

      😄🤣I saw this same comment but they changed it to a democrat !!

    • @PrimeMatt
      @PrimeMatt 3 года назад

      😂

  • @tundem638
    @tundem638 3 года назад +3156

    "Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities" - Voltaire.

    • @stephenharper6638
      @stephenharper6638 3 года назад +39

      Best comment! :)
      I realized years ago that there is no position low and vile enough, that if taken with energy and confidence will develop a following.

    • @justinweber4977
      @justinweber4977 3 года назад +33

      Kill magicians, got it.
      On a serious note, certainly a pretty good warning.

    • @paleamigo8575
      @paleamigo8575 3 года назад +10

      Great quote

    • @trickjohnson7378
      @trickjohnson7378 3 года назад +8

      long live our governments ;)

    • @meinegeheim2801
      @meinegeheim2801 3 года назад +9

      Tunde Musa.... ANOTHER, GREAT quote. Look around. There's PROOF of it EVERYWHERE!

  • @drea4195
    @drea4195 3 года назад +1658

    "In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with him as a person, but with slogans, catchwords, and the like that have taken possession of him."
    More relevant today than ever. The hallmark of social media.

    • @marisamartin3664
      @marisamartin3664 3 года назад +105

      Woke society 100%.

    • @PrintAimGame
      @PrintAimGame 3 года назад +76

      The funniest part of this video to me is the amount of people in the comments who completely glossed over this very important part of the video... to post quotes about stupidity. Part of the point is that previous learning can be insightful, but parading quotes without thought is a slippery slope.

    • @jamesgeorge4874
      @jamesgeorge4874 3 года назад +78

      The "lets go brandon" crowd, for example.

    • @ferrumignis
      @ferrumignis 3 года назад +29

      @@jamesgeorge4874 The "white privilege", "systemic racism", "racial equity", "inclusivity", "climate justice", "transphobic", "marginalised" crowd for example. F*ck Joe Biden.

    • @rain1956
      @rain1956 3 года назад +5

      Bots from The Borg. Fueled by their hate and racism.

  • @johnk.8902
    @johnk.8902 10 месяцев назад +95

    This theory sums up the following nicely -"Never argue with an idiot, they will only argue you down to their level and beat you with experience". Blessings.

    • @studleyjb3172
      @studleyjb3172 Месяц назад +3

      Mark Twain, I believe.

    • @McCabeMarketingToronto
      @McCabeMarketingToronto 27 дней назад +2

      Yes it is😊

    • @mddell24
      @mddell24 2 дня назад

      I have argued with idiots, mostly to see where the conversation goes. When you stop pointing out their error, they sometimes want to talk some more. Yeah, humans work themselves into the stupid corner very easily, and will not acknowledge.

    • @mddell24
      @mddell24 2 дня назад

      Flat Earth People are very good at slip sliding around the obvious. This can happen to use all. Most quietly accept the obvious.

  • @puriso1
    @puriso1 3 года назад +807

    "A fool who knows he is a fool can at least be said to have some wisdom, but a fool who thinks he is wise is a fool indeed." - The Buddha

    • @jammcguire1276
      @jammcguire1276 3 года назад +10

      The modern version of that is Dunning/Kruger!

    • @puriso1
      @puriso1 3 года назад +8

      @@jammcguire1276 Ah, yes, so true! I had to Google it I'm afraid (not up to speed with modern psychology), but it rings so true of what we see in the world now. People have a wealth of data at their fingertips, but many do not have the wisdom to discern between valid/useful data and conspiracy theories.

    • @puriso1
      @puriso1 3 года назад +3

      @@MrSearcher50 It was the Buddha (Dhammapada verse), but maybe also Socrates?

    • @civildiscourse2000
      @civildiscourse2000 3 года назад +2

      An outstanding example of the latter leaps to mind.

    • @RobMacKendrick
      @RobMacKendrick 3 года назад +10

      As a Zen monk, I would add that Christ said the same thing, and as usual, more succinctly: "There are none so blind as those who will not see."

  • @katnip198
    @katnip198 Год назад +286

    Bonhoeffer, a man of truth and courage. He wasn't "free" on the outside but he was inwardly. Thank you for this video.

    • @ChayaKhy
      @ChayaKhy Год назад +6

      After seeing this video I'd like to say that even on the outside he was freer than his compatriots. 🙃

    • @adamabele785
      @adamabele785 Год назад +6

      It is a pity that he did not survive the war. He had so many things to teach the world, one of the brightest in his profession. I studied his works with great benefits. He was only 39 when he died.

    • @Babyluthi
      @Babyluthi Год назад

      @@adamabele785 oh my. A gift to the world for such a short time.

    • @hook-x6f
      @hook-x6f Год назад +1

      He was so happy to leave here.

    • @KeePenne
      @KeePenne 11 дней назад

      @@adamabele785 He's alive through his writings and his life choices. He will live forever, even if no one remembers his name. He followed the path provided in his lifetime and the world is better for it.

  • @texastinman2189
    @texastinman2189 3 года назад +1029

    I'm reminded of Ben Franklin's observation.
    "We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."

    • @nickrund9455
      @nickrund9455 3 года назад +16

      I love this! I had never heard it before. For years I have been saying that ignorance does not bother me however, belligerent ignorance is infuriating.

    • @mattrogers5188
      @mattrogers5188 3 года назад

      It's a great quote, but it's probably not from Ben Franklin. Etymologist Barry Popik researched the quote in 2013 and found no evidence that Franklin said it. A 2019 PolitiFact article rated the attribution to Franklin "Pants on Fire."

    • @texastinman2189
      @texastinman2189 3 года назад +7

      @@nickrund9455 Ignorance is just not knowing.
      I am quite ignorant about auto mechanics, but I could learn.
      Stupid is not caring that you don't know, or pretending you DO know.
      As Ron White said, "You can't fix stupid", fles the sound.and I add, but duct tape muf

    • @stephanc6138
      @stephanc6138 3 года назад +7

      idk. fig stupidity is the laziness to think.

    • @sunnydaze2359
      @sunnydaze2359 3 года назад +1

      @@stephanc6138True that ! 👍🏼

  • @deadwalking100
    @deadwalking100 7 месяцев назад +16

    Thank you for posting, and making me aware of this gentleman's attempt at redressing what was happening . I am always impressed and in awe of those who stand up against such overwhelming odds; and often sadly pay with their life.

    • @bradfordbrucker
      @bradfordbrucker 12 дней назад +1

      You have given the definition of what a true Christian is...

    • @deadwalking100
      @deadwalking100 10 дней назад

      @@bradfordbrucker I agree, it can be applied to a lot of different groups and people.

  • @rationalbasis2172
    @rationalbasis2172 Год назад +1138

    Nicely presented. I feel like social media has unleashed a tsunami of stupidity and it's only getting worse.

    • @rationalbasis2172
      @rationalbasis2172 Год назад

      @@Jedin8_1966 Pray tell me that the communists shoot stupid people, and I will become a communist.

    • @festeradams3972
      @festeradams3972 Год назад +58

      "Social Media" is only an extension of "Village Gossip" by technical means. So was the telegraph and telephone for matter. The trouble is at the "village level" it was easy to pick out the "Village Idiots"...

    • @BernardS4
      @BernardS4 Год назад +23

      "social media" is a euphemism for social engineering

    • @elizabethcsicsery-ronay1633
      @elizabethcsicsery-ronay1633 Год назад +20

      I agree. And the really stupid can't be convinced. You can show them irrefutable evidence but it doesn't make a dent in them.

    • @kriegjaeger
      @kriegjaeger Год назад +7

      ​@@elizabethcsicsery-ronay1633
      As stated they see it as "incidental". The book of proverbs and of Ecclesiastes are full of wisdom on fools which Bonhoeffer likely came to realize the extent of.
      It's one thing to read, another to experience.

  • @marlene-rr2ih
    @marlene-rr2ih 3 года назад +232

    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle - Philosopher (384 - 322 BC)

    • @Reddotzebra
      @Reddotzebra 3 года назад +4

      Seeing all the other quotes in the comments section I wonder why nobody thumbed this up yet?

    • @rustyaxelrod
      @rustyaxelrod 3 года назад +13

      I was in my 40’s before I fully accepted or even understood this concept. As a shop Steward on a union contract I was often in the middle of disagreements. Asking the grieving employee to tell me what the company’s position might be when I approach them about their issue was quite interesting. Being able to articulate your oppositions position- even as you disagree with it- is difficult for most people. It’s as if acknowledging And agreeing are the same thing when in fact, differentiating the two are a central first step in the best possible resolution of disagreements.

    • @android12921
      @android12921 3 года назад

      My most favorite quote from my early 20's.

    • @MsNickie1001
      @MsNickie1001 3 года назад

      @@Reddotzebra yep, it’s the quote of the day!

    • @zacharybennett3249
      @zacharybennett3249 3 года назад +1

      Most useful quote I've seen in this thread.

  • @Mottleydude1
    @Mottleydude1 2 года назад +462

    I think Mark Twain said it best when he asked the rhetorical question “How comes those who know the least know it the loudest?”.

  • @smokeykitty6023
    @smokeykitty6023 3 месяца назад +11

    2:00 "Stupidity is not an intellectual defect but a moral one." Reminds me of the old man in Iowa who couldn't afford college and ended up a janitor for life. He lived very simply and when he died he had $3 million dollars saved that he donated for underprivileged children to pay for their college. He may have been formally uneducated but certainly wasn't stupid.

    • @spanks6947
      @spanks6947 15 часов назад

      Education does not make an intelligent person, it destroys any hope of it's "students" capacity to BE intelligent.
      Edit: Modern public "education". To be clear.

  • @MrPlasmaCosmos
    @MrPlasmaCosmos 3 года назад +293

    "You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic." - Robert A. Heinlein

    • @smokeykitty6023
      @smokeykitty6023 3 месяца назад +5

      @@MrPlasmaCosmos This playbook is certainly not a new one but "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Santayana

    • @davidbrisbane7206
      @davidbrisbane7206 2 месяца назад +6

      This is Trump's approach.

    • @ThorsMittens
      @ThorsMittens Месяц назад +4

      You see so much of this during election time. It's wild.

    • @jiggsborah7041
      @jiggsborah7041 Месяц назад +1

      I liked his books.

    • @RobertZellers
      @RobertZellers 5 дней назад

      That’s a bit ironic given his stance on homosexuality.

  • @Mattalica-ss9pj
    @Mattalica-ss9pj 3 года назад +665

    I've always differentiated between "ignorance" and "willful ignorance." The former can be addressed with information, the latter cannot -- and, because of that, it is far more dangerous.

    • @cisium1184
      @cisium1184 3 года назад +7

      The necessary irony in abstract thinking about stupidity is that the thinker must cut the same corners and make the same sweeping judgments that characterize willful stupidity. Philosophy is most pleasing when it is simple and broad and uses a lot of convenient labels that gloss over complex realities; thus philosophy exhibits the very qualities that appeal to mobs and political constituencies. It's easy reasoning that neatly defines vast groups of people as "us" or "them" - useful in conversation when making an argument, but dangerous when leveraged to control people. History has all kinds of examples of people oppressing other people based on the overapplication of some once-well-meaning philosophy.

    • @Mattalica-ss9pj
      @Mattalica-ss9pj 3 года назад +26

      @@cisium1184 -- I don't like the use of "stupid" or "stupidity" in this context really... Ignorance and stupidity are not synonymous. Ignorance represents a lack of information/knowledge -- you can be ignorant of the rules for calculating the hypotenuse of a triangle because you don't know the rule. This doesn't mean that you are stupid -- that implies something about the individual's aptitude/ability (i.e., something internal - and possibly fixed - about that person). If you teach the rule then the person is no longer ignorant -- i.e., ignorance is diminished by evidence/learning. When the person denies the evidence -- for example, they say that there is no evidence for human evolution, or no evidence for anthropocentric climate change, or no evidence that vaccines are safe -- then they are being willfully ignorant. This is a motivated bias rather than a mere lack of information -- it is the denial of evidence, the refusal of learning. That is when ignorance becomes dangerous. It is easy to say that people who deny evidence are "stupid" but that's too easy and not at all helpful in combating that type of motivated bias.

    • @Mattalica-ss9pj
      @Mattalica-ss9pj 3 года назад +6

      For example, it is very easy to say that anti-vaxxers are "stupid" -- and very appealing to think of them in this way -- but that's not really the case. I know some anti-vaxxers (I am definitely not one of them, to be clear), who are smart and caring people who have a very different threshold for what counts are evidence. They treat their feelings about the issue as totally valid - even more valid than what the science demonstrates. That they don't "feel" right about vaccinations is enough to convince them that they should not vaccinate their children (or themselves in these Covid times). Within my own mental dichotomy, they are being "willfully ignorant" because they have seen/read the evidence and have ultimately denied it because their feelings tell them something else. They are not stupid, but they are frustrating as #%@&... and they cannot be swayed with evidence (which is the antithesis of everything that I hold dear as an empiricist). To call them merely "stupid" ignores the reason that underlie their motivations to remain unwavering in their views -- and if you ignore the underlying mechanism, then you have no chance at all to make any chips in that armor (as unlikely as that seems to be with such deeply entrenched beliefs).

    • @MrAlbinopapa
      @MrAlbinopapa 3 года назад +10

      @@Mattalica-ss9pj One problem I have with your examples of climate change and vaccine hesitancy and perhaps I am misunderstanding the entirety of your message, but I don't think it's so black and white. For instance, competing evidence about efficacy or safety of vaccines either in isolation or compared to our natural immune system. Some of us see one side of the argument as being propaganda for vaccination and actions against climate change. If we just blindly believe the proposed facts about anything, then we fall into the willful ignorance category the same as disregarding information.
      As a personal account, my aunt after getting her second dose had stoke like symptoms. However, she isn't a very healthy person and to be honest far from it. So I have two options, believe it was an adverse reaction to the vaccine or the event was bound to happen at some point. Given her poor lifestyle decisions, I'll give benefit of doubt to the vaccine and say it is probably her poor choices. My ex wife got both doses of the vaccine and as far as I know hasn't had any observable adverse side effects. So you'd think my non-compliance with the vaccine mandate is unjustified, but after seeing multiple videos of peoples experiences as well as many videos of doctors saying they are seeing an uptick in certain medical cases after getting even the first vaccine dose makes me and others like me very hesitant.
      As far as the climate change supposedly caused or accelerated by humanity, I'm choosing to be willfully ignorant and any opinion I have on the matter is based on feelings and not logic or facts.

    • @srinivastatachar4951
      @srinivastatachar4951 3 года назад +4

      Voluntary idiots! Sigh! Makes one shudder!
      =============================================================

  • @ElenoorRigbee
    @ElenoorRigbee Год назад +436

    When I was young I was very social, I thought I liked meeting & getting to know people. Now in my 70’s I’d rather be alone than spend time trying to find someone intelligent, interesting & knowledgeable to converse with. Too many people are set in their ways, limited in their life experiences & content to be so. As Socrates said “the unexamined life is not worth living” - not just stupid these people are boring as hell

    • @Siss2012
      @Siss2012 Год назад +16

      I hear you!

    • @nihilmiror6312
      @nihilmiror6312 10 месяцев назад +7

      I led a fast and furious life, many ups and downs, never a dull moment, lots of scary ones, couldn’t agree more. Leve Palestina! 👍🫶🙏🕊️🇵🇸🇦🇺🦘

    • @tracyturner1634
      @tracyturner1634 10 месяцев назад +18

      LOL😆alone time can be joyous too... feeling you❣

    • @carolgraham8564
      @carolgraham8564 10 месяцев назад +14

      So true. I feel the same way. Never understood how so many people live in a box and refuse to step outside their box to look at something new

    • @suekuns8018
      @suekuns8018 9 месяцев назад +13

      Wow, you sound interesting, knowledgeable, and intelligent! 😉 I'm only in my 50s and feel this way!

  • @johnhoie-hj7cg
    @johnhoie-hj7cg 15 дней назад +35

    This seems especially timely today in the US.

    • @KeePenne
      @KeePenne 13 дней назад +2

      Some of the comments from 3 years ago didn't age so well......

    • @inaperfectworld8087
      @inaperfectworld8087 4 дня назад

      Now Nov. 5th, 2024 USA

  • @Zenas521
    @Zenas521 3 года назад +760

    Bonhoeffer‘s Theory of Stupidity sounds like what is happening specifically to the USA and western culture in general. I wonder how this correlates with the Dunning-Kruger Effect?

    • @ScMaHi
      @ScMaHi 3 года назад +34

      Nah, its happening in south east asia n other 3rd world countries too

    • @egopathtime3273
      @egopathtime3273 3 года назад +93

      I'm glad you mentioned the Dunning-Kruger effect. Narcissism trait is preferring delusions over reality. The overlap is there for Stupidity and Narcissism but Narcissism is immune to the Dunning-Kruger effect. For with Narcissism there is no undervaluing themselves, no matter how little or much they know, their arrogance remains the same with their "infallible" emotional reasoning. Naturally Stupidity comes about when the Midwits deem themselves "in the know". Emotional Reasoning plays a major role in all of it.
      Stupidity will always offer a feeling of comfort. Without this certainty, this comfort, stupidity wouldn't be so common. The stupid choice to the stupid doesn't seem stupid, it feels right. Emotional reasoning and comfort, a very good feeling, is all that is needed for stupidity to defeat intelligence.
      Don't ask what were they thinking. They weren't thinking. Ask what were they feeling.
      The Dark Triad includes Narcissism, as would be expected of criminal types, who prefer delusions over reality and end up getting caught because of it:
      Ex. McArthur Wheeler, who believed by covering his face in lemon juice, it would be invisible! He was rather surprised when the bank robbery he pulled off was short lived with police showing up at his door after seeing the recorded footage and somehow able to see his face despite his ingenuity. This was the push needed for the research now widely known as the Dunning Kruger Effect.
      It's all interconnected, this Midwit Infestation, this Narcissism Epidemic, this Egopath Endgame. All of it. Evil can bank on the destructive power that is stupid. Gather Stupid into a Herd to destroy the intelligent and plunge us all into the Dark Ages. I've covered this with Carlos Cipolla's Taxonomy of Stupid and Friedrich Nietzsches classification of the Higher Man, The Herd, and The Slave.. you can find it by searching: Tyr Ravensohn Mask of Perfection. It's the grand finale.

    • @pirateddaily941
      @pirateddaily941 3 года назад +21

      Dunning kruger effect occurs at country level also india always say we will never win war against china because we know a lot about china while pakistan always say that they can easily defeat india which actually stupid.

    • @sarutobisensei1
      @sarutobisensei1 3 года назад +16

      @@egopathtime3273 You should speak about it on a vídeo man

    • @newagain9964
      @newagain9964 3 года назад +9

      @Borfis Jort Wow. Racist much? As if ppl in Asia are immune to stupidity. Go back to doing what u do best =🤤

  • @spacey_ace_kid7504
    @spacey_ace_kid7504 2 года назад +1076

    The best part of this, is that everyone watching this will think about how well it applies to whatever group they disagree with, without realizing that they could also be the stupid person.

    • @KingZNIN
      @KingZNIN 2 года назад +105

      All sides have stupid people. No group is safe from that, and that knowledge makes my skin craw.

    • @QoraxAudio
      @QoraxAudio 2 года назад +108

      But the main issue is that non-stupid people are seen as the ones being stupid by those who actually are stupid.

    • @jm7974
      @jm7974 2 года назад +42

      thats the dunning-kruger chapter on stupidity.

    • @robertwilliams1519
      @robertwilliams1519 2 года назад +22

      Unfortunately, stupidity is universal.

    • @saqibmasoodi6257
      @saqibmasoodi6257 2 года назад +29

      This shit always blows my mind. Makes me question everything, heck i think i have completely lost my religious beliefs going down this Rabbit hole of philosophy 🤷

  • @knusern666
    @knusern666 3 года назад +632

    When you are dead, you do not know you are dead. It's only painful & difficult for others. The same applies when you are stupid. -Ricky Gervais

    • @jamesmcgee7723
      @jamesmcgee7723 3 года назад +12

      Ricky is a genius.

    • @kenlieck7756
      @kenlieck7756 3 года назад +6

      Never expected to find a Gervais quote to rival those of the greatest thinkers on the planet!

    • @goblinoide
      @goblinoide 3 года назад +1

      You actually do know when you're dead, because you burn in hell for eternity.
      But it doesn't have to be that way, you can have eternal life: ruclips.net/video/CLTAqJavYZU/видео.html

    • @kenlieck7756
      @kenlieck7756 3 года назад +1

      @@FightingForFacts7074 Ah. That makes more sense. Didn't sound like the way Gervais speaks.

    • @mavericksetsuna7396
      @mavericksetsuna7396 3 года назад +5

      @@goblinoide As much as i want to argue... I know there is no helping the stupid.

  • @michaelpcoffee
    @michaelpcoffee 10 месяцев назад +17

    The same reason that I reject the insanity defense in criminal cases: a sane person can be corrected. An insane person is a constant threat.

    • @ismaelguardado1414
      @ismaelguardado1414 9 месяцев назад +5

      Insanity and stupidity are different things in my opinion

  • @firasalghanim8627
    @firasalghanim8627 3 года назад +2008

    “Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.” - Mark Twain

    • @sprouts
      @sprouts  3 года назад +54

      Fantastic

    • @oleleewahjahlawze60
      @oleleewahjahlawze60 3 года назад +11

      Love 💕 this one.well done.lol😁

    • @treefrog3349
      @treefrog3349 3 года назад +23

      Mark Twain is the very antitheses of EVERY politician on Capitol Hill. Thanks for sharing this tid-bit of wisdom.

    • @unnecessaryapostrophe4047
      @unnecessaryapostrophe4047 3 года назад +19

      "Stop quoting me on the internet!" - Mark "Frank (Voltaire) Herbert" Twain

    • @jammcguire1276
      @jammcguire1276 3 года назад +6

      We are still going through this!

  • @TheTydalwave
    @TheTydalwave 3 года назад +504

    As a mature-aged psychology student I have had a building interest in the area of stupidity while simultaneously thinking it would be difficult to research due to many being offended at the use of the word stupid. This video has given me the push to indeed try to make this an area of research as I enter my further years of study. Thank you Sprouts!

    • @egopathtime3273
      @egopathtime3273 3 года назад +30

      I recommend looking into Carlos Cipolla's Taxonomy of Stupid (and his 5 fundamental laws) as well as terms like Midwit, NPC (Non-playable character), and Sheeple.
      Also further research by others helps.
      Hanlons Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by neglect/incompetence/stupidity (at least not the first time)
      The Seven Laws of Stupidity By Nana Oppong
      The Seven Degrees of Stupid by Paul McWhorter
      You may also look into The Comfort Camper with myself and Tyr Ravensohn. Spoiler: They can't think outside their comfort zone.
      For movies: Free Guy or Idiocracy
      Good luck!

    • @skipperofschool8325
      @skipperofschool8325 3 года назад +7

      Best of luck! Update us if you want, I'll be happy to support in any way I can.

    • @egopathtime3273
      @egopathtime3273 3 года назад +4

      Oh, here's the video on The Comfort Camper.
      Enjoy!
      ruclips.net/video/I83L3RQglqg/видео.html

    • @AlexAnastaso
      @AlexAnastaso 3 года назад

      Why we are so mad about stupitidity ? If you cant argue civilized with someone dont talk civilized it's liberating, then you dont need to defend yourself for stupid words because u already know the x person doesnt deserve your good self anyway. Stupid people are mad people that they dont want to accept their problem with specific people and blame anyone else ,they release their pressure on others while they are sayig tha they dont do that. 'I am always kind is masochism', 'I am always agreesive is sadism'.
      Just admit to yourself what is defense and what is not and prove it, the angry mob cant be justified (left,right or true liberal), the one without sins can throw the first stone, if you dont have a crime in your records you can 'throw a stone'(symbolical) for real IF AND ONLY IF they are trying to damage your health!
      REAL PRIDE does not has shame at all. (sry for my English)

    • @UatuEd
      @UatuEd 3 года назад +10

      Might help to just rename it to something else - e.g. voluntary subjugation to group mind (well - something like that, you can probably think of something more catchy!). The name is very important - as it will be the difference between support and rage from the subjugated public.

  • @istp1967
    @istp1967 3 года назад +799

    "When arguing with fools; be absolutely sure that the other person isn't doing the same thing" -- Abraham Lincoln.

    • @lovealways2609
      @lovealways2609 3 года назад +30

      "never argue with fools - onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
      ■▪︎. MARK TWAIN

    • @lovealways2609
      @lovealways2609 3 года назад +2

      @Ember Rhapsody ahhhh.
      my honors degree in tomfoolery has taken me so far

    • @DKJahlove
      @DKJahlove 3 года назад

      😁 yes!

    • @richsackett3423
      @richsackett3423 3 года назад +5

      “When trying to appear smart on the internet, quote historical figures. It’s so easy!” - Captain Obvious

    • @coop-nr6nm
      @coop-nr6nm 2 года назад

      Perfect quote, lol

  • @stephanietrapasso1447
    @stephanietrapasso1447 6 месяцев назад +24

    Extraordinary dynamic. Bonhoffer's Platonic influence is evident. Kudos to this creater. This should be in every classroom above sixth grade.

    • @theappraiserlady
      @theappraiserlady 17 дней назад

      It has to start much earlier than the sixth grade. By then, it's too late.

  • @bilingis8969
    @bilingis8969 2 года назад +91

    It’s typically against my philosophy to comment on RUclips videos (I never sign in anymore), but I thought it was important to mention the book “The Plot to Kill Hitler: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Unlikely Hero”. It’s an excellent read that should give anyone who doesn’t know about him a great insight into his life and what he stood for. A very commendable man. Great video by the way.

    • @sprouts
      @sprouts  2 года назад +6

      Thanks for the recommendation !

    • @thzzzt
      @thzzzt 2 года назад +3

      Don't turn your nose up at RUclips. God knows it's where you're needed.

    • @JoeOvercoat
      @JoeOvercoat 2 года назад

      @@sprouts I find it an interesting twist that someone was involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler when Germany was clearly on the road to ruin. I would think the only motivation would be to discourage the Russians from destroying Germany in retribution for the Nazis.

    • @danphan2364
      @danphan2364 10 дней назад

      A movie is coming, to be released on Nov 22, 2024 in the US.

  • @Phlebas
    @Phlebas 2 года назад +885

    "People who live in solitude manifest this defect less frequently than people who live in groups".
    To modernize this observation, I think it's probably safe to say that visiting social media sites on a regular basis probably counts as "living in groups". There's definitely been a rise of stupidity since Facebook took over people's lives.

    • @JHJHJHJHJH
      @JHJHJHJHJH 2 года назад +1

      It's even worse than socialising in groups as we only had so much time in the day to actually socialise prior to Facebook. Now you can 'socialise' with your 'friends' whiile making lunch, going to the toilet and even half asleep at the start and end of every day. And the socialising is just a constant drip-feed of crap inside whatever echo-chamber you inhabit.

    • @QoraxAudio
      @QoraxAudio 2 года назад +58

      Wow is Facebook still a thing? Geez that's so 2009.
      Quitting social media is the new quitting smoking.

    • @robfb7
      @robfb7 2 года назад +9

      Absolutely right.

    • @fishtherapy100
      @fishtherapy100 2 года назад +30

      I ever signed up to FB, or Instagram. Why why why? I never understood it. What…looking at photos of other people? Threw my TV away 10 years ago. Its a lying machine.

    • @peterkephart7955
      @peterkephart7955 2 года назад +9

      Undoubtedly true, and one of the many reasons I abandoned social media some years ago.

  • @JamesBond-uz2dm
    @JamesBond-uz2dm 3 года назад +1394

    " Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level, and win with experience. " ______ Mark Twain

    • @jimda4910
      @jimda4910 3 года назад +49

      Like playing chess with a pigeon in the park. He will poop on the board, knock over all the pieces and fly away and Victory.

    • @digitalperson108
      @digitalperson108 3 года назад +16

      The rule I always forget to follow when I wade into a debate on boobtoob.
      So fun to watch both political sides in attempting to co-opt this video to prove their own deranged views.
      Literally the premise of the video played out in near real time. Lol

    • @ltmundy1164
      @ltmundy1164 3 года назад +34

      Wrestling with the pig. Everybody gets muddy. And only the pig enjoys it.

    • @storyslice1937
      @storyslice1937 3 года назад +13

      @@ltmundy1164 You made me think of this. Matt 7:6 . . . neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

    • @kylethedalek
      @kylethedalek 3 года назад +19

      Don’t you realise the irony here?
      This could be applied to anyone, you think your right, but aren’t.
      But you have this mindset the video is showing.
      And the people you think are stupid have this mindset about you.
      And vice versa.

  • @horizon319
    @horizon319 18 дней назад +47

    Who's here 11/6/2024 wondering how we got here again?? 😭😭

    • @theappraiserlady
      @theappraiserlady 17 дней назад +3

      I am not wondering. I expected it.

    • @KeePenne
      @KeePenne 13 дней назад +1

      The why is easier to answer.

    • @inaperfectworld8087
      @inaperfectworld8087 5 дней назад +1

      I am here. Cannot believe what happened with the elections. I guess this video explains it. Nov. 5th 2024

    • @Ma2B2
      @Ma2B2 3 дня назад +2

      I just got this in my recommendations today and it felt like the perfect time to watch it

    • @George-ni5ic
      @George-ni5ic 2 дня назад

      I’m not sure if it’s stupidity as much as gullibility.

  • @snogglemonkey
    @snogglemonkey 3 года назад +1952

    Unfortunately, stupidity is the greatest pandemic America has ever seen.

    • @5idi
      @5idi 3 года назад +172

      It's global

    • @tonymp
      @tonymp 3 года назад +79

      It's in human nature. The modern GOP is just the latest to exploit it on a mass scale

    • @thorodinson4876
      @thorodinson4876 3 года назад +19

      maybe they should have people that get vexxed take a before/after IQ test to make sure they're not putting anything in there to make people even MORE stoopid.

    • @gregorysullivan7175
      @gregorysullivan7175 3 года назад +15

      Thank you. So frightfully true.

    • @Muthurtucker
      @Muthurtucker 3 года назад +4

      Touche

  • @Craxin01
    @Craxin01 Год назад +556

    I have long contended that stupidity wasn't a lack of intelligence or capability of rational thought but of willful ignorance. Unintelligent people often try to understand much harder than a willfully ignorant person. I have found more legitimately learning-disabled people capable of understanding complex ideas than people who outright refuse to learn because of ideology.

    • @StillGamingTM
      @StillGamingTM Год назад +38

      Yes I’ve met plenty of people with learning disabilities and/or supposedly low IQ say very insightful things or learning complex matters via a different route. I’ve also met plenty of people who were supposed to be intelligent to be very closed minded and unwilling to change or update views. Not to mention blaming external circumstances when not able to solve a puzzle instead of just trying for longer/trying something different/asking for help

    • @fazom1707
      @fazom1707 Год назад +21

      A simplification: irrationality is different from stupidity. It tends to be induced by emotion, rather than by intellectual condition, and that seems to be overlooked by most people. There are situations in which even intelligent people act or think irrationally, and situations in which "unintelligent" people act/think rationally.

    • @libraryaccount5929
      @libraryaccount5929 Год назад +2

      💯

    • @FQT_Keller-Ash
      @FQT_Keller-Ash Год назад +3

      My one thing is my disability actually makes it so I feel the need to ignore information, this has been a great challenge of mine, especially since people often take it as me not wanting to learn when in reality I feel like I can not learn in my current state and I am trying to get to a state where I can.

    • @feraxks
      @feraxks Год назад

      willfully ignorant = moral deficiency

  • @lloydparsons48
    @lloydparsons48 3 года назад +138

    this is GOLD...
    any similarity with our current realty is not coincidence

    • @waltersobchak7275
      @waltersobchak7275 3 года назад +3

      LGB

    • @robertramsey653
      @robertramsey653 3 года назад +5

      That's because we actually ARE stupid and allow history to repeat itself. And the side that is actually committing the atrocities always calls the other the evil ones not being able to see the irony of their own actions and words. Like our current predicament with the vax. They cant see that "show me your papers" is literally creating a second class of people. There should never be a situation where we have to show papers to be allowed to participate in society, and they think the "reason" makes it ok. The "reason" is just a way to turn people against each other, and its working wonderfully for them.

    • @jakethomas1829
      @jakethomas1829 3 года назад +2

      @@waltersobchak7275 FJB indeed!

    • @waltersobchak7275
      @waltersobchak7275 3 года назад

      @@jakethomas1829 👍🤣😂

    • @CarrotConsumer
      @CarrotConsumer 3 года назад

      @@robertramsey653 Or they just value public health over personal liberty. It's not stupidity, it's a different set of priorities. Before vaccines it wasn't uncommon to have a sibling or child die from a disease we no longer have to deal with. So when vaccine mandates for schools and some workplaces started few cared. Were they wrong to not care about a life saving policy?
      Understanding the perspective of people not like you is important.

  • @nihilmiror6312
    @nihilmiror6312 10 месяцев назад +10

    Explains what’s going on in the world today perfectly! Thank you Sir, R.I.P. 👍🫡🙏🕊️🇦🇺🦘

    • @danacoleman4007
      @danacoleman4007 10 месяцев назад +1

      A person could read your comment at ANY time in history and it would be correct

    • @JZsBFF
      @JZsBFF 7 месяцев назад +2

      Sometimes it's not wise to be smart. Ask Bonhoeffer.
      Farty-five wasn't kidding when he said that he loved the uneducated, so did Uncle Adolf: a clean slate is easiest to write on.

  • @marymurphy2605
    @marymurphy2605 Год назад +228

    Years ago when I worked in a high school library, a colleague once said to me, in frustration regarding one of her students: "Someone told her once that she was brilliant, and she is stupid enough to believe it."
    Since then I met MANY people that fit that description.

    • @kelaarin
      @kelaarin Год назад +8

      "Everybody's special", amirite?

    • @willfox4654
      @willfox4654 Год назад +3

      That's a great quote

    • @GreeceUranusPutin
      @GreeceUranusPutin Год назад

      Stupid people don't understand sarcasm.

    • @hook-x6f
      @hook-x6f Год назад +1

      Never think you know already. instead you want to know more.

    • @chriss3030
      @chriss3030 Год назад +2

      That's the long way to describe: delusional.
      But which character in the story is the delusional one, or more delusional than the other... Things that make me go: Hmmm

  • @ArcanePath360
    @ArcanePath360 3 года назад +721

    This can basically be summed up as "useful idiots". The parallels today are very disturbing. We are rushing into totalitarianism and most people seem to want it.

    • @kylej741
      @kylej741 2 года назад +62

      “Please think for me” syndrome

    • @ArcanePath360
      @ArcanePath360 2 года назад +10

      @@kylej741 Yup. Never ends well
      .

    • @goodyeoman4534
      @goodyeoman4534 2 года назад +73

      As Covid has proved beyond doubt. Blind obedience and mass hysteria.

    • @gunman462
      @gunman462 2 года назад +61

      @@goodyeoman4534 Not to mention the hatred of those who don't blindly follow.

    • @kimrok1
      @kimrok1 2 года назад +11

      @@gunman462 Thats the truth!

  • @hughjoelcaulk7244
    @hughjoelcaulk7244 3 года назад +1773

    "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience” - Mark Twain

    • @alanmckeeve2695
      @alanmckeeve2695 3 года назад +36

      He also said never argue with fools observers cant tell the difference.

    • @lizbueding2626
      @lizbueding2626 3 года назад +30

      "I would never engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man".

    • @1laforees829
      @1laforees829 3 года назад +1

      To argue any point is stupid.

    • @ralphfrasier2079
      @ralphfrasier2079 3 года назад +5

      @@alanmckeeve2695 Never heard this one.....definitely sounds like Twain!

    • @tolpacourt
      @tolpacourt 3 года назад +4

      I don't understand what this means.

  • @austinryan3934
    @austinryan3934 9 месяцев назад +5

    Arguing with a stupid person is like playing chess with a pigeon.
    It's just going to strut around, shit on the board, knock the pieces over, and be generally unaware of the game itself.

  • @anthonyr6286
    @anthonyr6286 3 года назад +242

    Lately, discussing this with my gf, it seems that many people we thought of as intelligent (friends, coworkers, family) aren't. It's amazing how many people don't think too deep on much of anything

    • @goatface6602
      @goatface6602 3 года назад +26

      ….and it’s going to cost us all dearly.

    • @cnam1258
      @cnam1258 3 года назад +13

      Intelligence and wisdom can be differentiated.

    • @MrJeffcoley1
      @MrJeffcoley1 3 года назад +7

      “Trust the experts!”

    • @gillps5130
      @gillps5130 3 года назад +5

      If they thought at all it would be a bonus so we are all suffering the resultant deficit.

    • @johnthompson5792
      @johnthompson5792 3 года назад +2

      listen & observe,,, it will teach tons of 411

  • @leifvejby8023
    @leifvejby8023 3 года назад +244

    In the old days, before the internet, we believed that stupidity was caused by lack of information. It wasn't that!

    • @dnmurphy48
      @dnmurphy48 3 года назад +3

      While blaming the internet for everything people forget that the panic of the witch hunt craze, the rise of Protestantism against the Catholic church, the rise of Marxist-Leninism, the rise of the Nazis all happened without the internet and nothing more than the printing press as a communications medium.

    • @leifvejby8023
      @leifvejby8023 3 года назад +12

      @@dnmurphy48 I'm not blaming the internet but people - stoopid people will be stoopid no matter how much or how little information they have access to.

    • @pd4165
      @pd4165 3 года назад +30

      Yeah - the internet has just made it easier for the stupid to find justification for their stupidity. And to find each other with ease - the algorithms of Facebook being a prime example (if you like this brand of stupid you'll like this extreme version even more!).

    • @uno1087
      @uno1087 3 года назад +27

      The internet brought what was called the age of information but it was quickly turned the Age of misinformation.

    • @leifvejby8023
      @leifvejby8023 3 года назад +2

      @@reasonerenlightened2456 That is one kind of stupidity

  • @jeffw5263
    @jeffw5263 3 года назад +1225

    “Whenever you find yourself in the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.” (paraphrase) -Mark Twain

  • @sheepishwolfie5419
    @sheepishwolfie5419 12 дней назад +27

    Sooooo, anyone here after the 2024 US election going “hmmmm…” ?

    • @yvettecolebourn5786
      @yvettecolebourn5786 2 дня назад

      😂

    • @juliahello6673
      @juliahello6673 2 дня назад +1

      If you get anything from this video it’s the realization that both sides are stupid and you should spend way more time figuring out how the side you “believe in” is stupid rather than figuring out how the side you hate is stupid.

  • @seth8629
    @seth8629 Год назад +66

    The video doesn't mention that there is a bliss for people like this. They don't have to think, no matter what they do they're right and you're wrong. It is very compelling to people who are confused by a complicated world.

    • @Paulcitomusic
      @Paulcitomusic Год назад

      They may enjoy blissful moments when they are in the trance and with the group who is agreeing and boosting them. On the internet this takes the form of "likes" and agreeing replies. But their need to viciously verbally attack the skeptic who jumps into the dialog, the one who is not uncritically supporting the consensus view of the group and the topic at hand, shows what is really inside.
      They have no peace of mind and they have no knowledge of their own potential (but deeply buried) sense of self. They are not free. But they don't think of life or society in terms of being free, so that doesn't factor into their behavior and their unconscious abuse of the thoughtful skeptic. I call this mode "reddit think", because Reddit is the one major internet platform where I've observed this mode of being and behavior is most frequent.

  • @hadara69
    @hadara69 3 года назад +753

    “The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.”
    ~Maximilien de Robespierre

    • @pedrozappa1188
      @pedrozappa1188 3 года назад +24

      .."How fortunate for governments that the people they administer do not think". ~ Adolf Hitler
      ..There has always been that common thread in society that makes it easy to control.

    • @sm6jesse
      @sm6jesse 3 года назад +41

      I agree, except that "education" can be used to keep people ignorant. much of our current education does just this... it's partly propaganda

    • @hadara69
      @hadara69 3 года назад +30

      @@sm6jesse It’s fairly easy to distinguish between education and indoctrination.
      If what is being taught can’t handle pushback, critique, or the scrutiny of basic logic, it’s the latter.
      The problem is, Conservatives (in America) have already decided that those are flipped. This is rooted in Creationism, but also in traditional racist beliefs (for instance, educating kids about how minority groups have suffered and should be treated, which is the root of the made-up “CRT controversy”) not to mention an elaborate Nationalistic mythology about American exceptionalism, etc.
      Indoctrination has one goal: To create more cult members.
      Education has another: To create free-thinkers who aren’t conformists.

    • @frederiquecouture3924
      @frederiquecouture3924 3 года назад +4

      ...Then he was guillotined.

    • @hadara69
      @hadara69 3 года назад +1

      @@frederiquecouture3924 Thanks. There’s ALWAYS one…
      Lol!

  • @JohnnyJazzFreak
    @JohnnyJazzFreak 3 года назад +191

    One word that Bonhoeffer failed to mention and that is completely absent from this video, yet is central to this "stupidity" that he talks about is propaganda. That's what grips people, puts them under a spell and makes idiots of them all.

    • @dorasnop7771
      @dorasnop7771 3 года назад +8

      briliant!

    • @donnievance1942
      @donnievance1942 3 года назад +16

      Actually he does talk about propaganda, but without using that term. The thing is that he's trying to get at the deeper issue of the moral choice that underlies stupidity, whether it is induced by deliberate propaganda or not.

    • @paultuke5110
      @paultuke5110 3 года назад +9

      I agree. I think the internet memes can also be lumped into this category. It's easy (and lazy) to see a simple photo with a few incendiary words to validate our beliefs regardless of how inaccurate or invalid the point that is being made.

    • @markswan2582
      @markswan2582 3 года назад +6

      @@paultuke5110 Agree. Laziness is stupidity’s ugly cousin.

    • @celebrim1
      @celebrim1 3 года назад +7

      @@paultuke5110 The nice thing about using a term like propaganda is that it convicts some other group, where as if we used terms like memes, maxims, or aphorisms to say how stupidity is caught and spread, it might convict everyone. For no one thinks that he is a propagandist for spreading the common wisdom. Rather he pats himself on the back for having a lot of common sense.

  • @Mitsubachicats
    @Mitsubachicats 2 дня назад +4

    This is so needed in late November 2024.
    Thanks for the reminder: you cannot fix stupid.

  • @aaroncalbers
    @aaroncalbers 3 года назад +584

    “Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.” - Proverbs 23:9

    • @kathytarr3916
      @kathytarr3916 3 года назад +28

      Great scripture! Thanks!

    • @gertjankoreman
      @gertjankoreman 3 года назад +49

      "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces." - Matthew 7:6

    • @eddiemunster4094
      @eddiemunster4094 3 года назад +18

      @@gertjankoreman since swine doesn't know pearls have value all they know is consumption 😬

    • @crisole
      @crisole 3 года назад +1

      akthually

    • @themacocko6311
      @themacocko6311 3 года назад +8

      Said the guy from a cult.

  • @alekspanzone1721
    @alekspanzone1721 3 года назад +652

    "Arguing with a genius is hard, arguing with an idiot is impossible", Einstein (I think)

    • @crisfield4364
      @crisfield4364 3 года назад +16

      If Einstein didn't say it, I'll bet that he'd agree with it.

    • @thatotherguy8138
      @thatotherguy8138 3 года назад +10

      Arguing with a Genius who is also an Idiot is even worse.

    • @rburgess1515
      @rburgess1515 3 года назад +9

      Well i looked it up and it was Bill Murray

    • @catherinehazur7336
      @catherinehazur7336 3 года назад +15

      @Esphaeras Praestans arguing with those whose reasoning ability has been eaten away by TDS and the comorbidity of Identity Politics is even more futile

    • @jamesaritchie1
      @jamesaritchie1 3 года назад +4

      @Esphaeras Praestans You don't have the ability to think. Or to write a proper sentence.

  • @ANDROLOMA
    @ANDROLOMA 2 года назад +254

    The difference between intelligence and stupidity is that intelligence has limits.

    • @oligoprimer
      @oligoprimer 2 года назад +13

      Einstein said there are two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity. He followed that by clarifying that he wasn’t sure about the universe.

    • @paulsnell534
      @paulsnell534 2 года назад +3

      @@oligoprimer I am stupid but 2 things I admit it and I recognise it. Most people don't get that far

    • @PS-ic4bp
      @PS-ic4bp 2 года назад +1

      😂

    • @VictorYarema
      @VictorYarema 2 года назад

      Sounds like a slogan, right?

    • @ANDROLOMA
      @ANDROLOMA 2 года назад

      @@VictorYarema Or a fastgan.

  • @bean-spiller
    @bean-spiller 7 месяцев назад +15

    "Sooner or later, false thinking brings wrong conduct."
    Sir Julian Huxley - Essays of a Biologist (1924)

  • @tomgripple4935
    @tomgripple4935 2 года назад +317

    Someone pointed out to me when I was a teenager that intelligence and stupidity are not opposite ends of a spectrum, you can have a lot or very little of both. There are people who aren't very smart, but they work within their limitations and very rarely do anything stupid. There are also geniuses who do idiotic things regularly.

    • @vickiesutherland4628
      @vickiesutherland4628 2 года назад +19

      Then there are people Willfully ignorant!

    • @kencreel3136
      @kencreel3136 2 года назад +23

      Haha why did Elon Musk just pop into my head

    • @CrimsonKingOkie
      @CrimsonKingOkie 2 года назад +15

      I always thought of it as functional intelligence vs. raw brain power. As you say, a person of limited raw brain power who knows their limitations and works within them can easily do better than a person of greater processing ability who does not realize the limits of their own knowledge.

    • @the81kid
      @the81kid 2 года назад +6

      Intelligence seems to be the specific skill of using the hand you were dealt in intellectual and technical ability to its fullest.

    • @gordongordon98
      @gordongordon98 2 года назад +2

      @@CrimsonKingOkie yes, the illusion of knowledge

  • @ronricherson6685
    @ronricherson6685 3 года назад +317

    Bonhoeffer was an incredible student and searched beyond book smarts. He travelled to America and toured extensively before the war. He went to India because of Ghandi and travelled to Rome to see Vatican City. He had an imaginative, searching intellect. I believe he meant for his writing to evoke discussion and debate rather than be conclusive; because he maintained a true sense of humility. I highly recommend Eric Metaxes' book about him.

    • @Schwertfisch13
      @Schwertfisch13 3 года назад +10

      He warned the Allies about what Hitler was going to do and how utterly dangerous he would get. Nobody wanted to hear him, they just labeled him as a looney and ignored his warnings. Seems familiar?

    • @ronricherson6685
      @ronricherson6685 3 года назад +2

      Yes, it does!

    • @nainabhadra270
      @nainabhadra270 3 года назад

      gandhi*

    • @ronricherson6685
      @ronricherson6685 3 года назад +3

      Thanks for the correction. I should know better, especially since I share his birthday.

    • @TopDingoMan
      @TopDingoMan 3 года назад +4

      @@Schwertfisch13 That sounds like most of the worlds leaders at this time.

  • @warfiend1433
    @warfiend1433 Год назад +681

    Mark twain famously wrote; "Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." And in my long life I've fought many of those battles and lost all of them. However there is a way for you to turn your intelligence against these people. Instead of arguing with them pretend to be interested. but each time your victim explains their ideas you must completely agree and also entirely misunderstand them in a way that's even more stupid then the original idea. This will make them feel incredibly frustrated and as soon as this becomes noticeable you will feel happiness because even though they still do not get why they are stupid they at least feel what everyone else feels when talking with them.

    • @CAMSLAYER13
      @CAMSLAYER13 Год назад

      That's stupid, either have the discussion or do not. Don't fuck with people because you think they are stupid.

    • @BluePatriotWinner
      @BluePatriotWinner Год назад +32

      LOL love it! Thank you. Definitely gonna give that a shot.

    • @skeetsvar162
      @skeetsvar162 Год назад +1

      Plot twist, your feigned stupidity was taken at face value and has succeeded in convincing the idiot that his stupid ideas are stupid and that your even dumber ideas are smarter. He is now unintentionally using your own words against you.
      Congratulations, you played yourself.

    • @kimc451
      @kimc451 Год назад +32

      Bahaha! I had to screenshot this! Great tip! Will def use this! God speed to all common sense, critical thinkers who feel like they’re living in crazy land! Keep up the good fight! 😉🤗

    • @horustrismegistus1017
      @horustrismegistus1017 Год назад +15

      This dude said force doesn't solve stupidity.
      Yes. It does.

  • @markvandoren3387
    @markvandoren3387 7 месяцев назад +15

    This describes everything that is wrong right here, right now.

  • @KrisVesel
    @KrisVesel 3 года назад +183

    I disagree that the stupid are "often stubborn". They're always stubborn. In fact a dull but open mind can always attain a certain degree of intelligence or insight, but the stubborn mind is doomed to remain ignorant.

    • @lesnash6953
      @lesnash6953 3 года назад +2

      Not all stubborn people are stupid

    • @Burt1038
      @Burt1038 3 года назад +2

      no we aren't.

    • @isheeppol8761
      @isheeppol8761 2 года назад

      You misunderstand. Also there's no clear line to determine if a person is naive, uneducated or indoctrinated. The former too have a good chance not to be stubborn.

    • @bradwolfe2993
      @bradwolfe2993 2 года назад

      Some subjected to narcissist learned to be defiant , silent and stubborn to protect oneself early survival skills learned not knowing how else , and takes years to overcome if ever really

  • @davidbentrin1088
    @davidbentrin1088 3 года назад +59

    History is full of examples like this; the best are persecuted for taking a principled stand against the violent masses. Obviously, this is a lesson which is relevant to our times - the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

    • @BeeYu-id3iy
      @BeeYu-id3iy 6 месяцев назад

      violent masses is a mob

  • @SADCOCK1970
    @SADCOCK1970 2 года назад +1764

    I would add that laziness is a major cause of stupidity. It takes effort to weigh up evidence, differentiate facts and come to conclusions. It is easier to believe a simple lie than a complicated truth. Lazier to blame one thing for all problems and flock to someone that claims they can solve it simply. Stupid is not inherent. Stupid is lazy.

    • @southerncuban5845
      @southerncuban5845 2 года назад +64

      I agree. It is laziness in not wanting to abandon what feels good which leads to engaging in motivated reasoning. The behavior is tailored to protecting feelings at the expense of accepting an inconvenient truth. Using logic to persuade a person with this approach is like working out in real life to break an Olympic record in a video game.

    • @mrobin3009
      @mrobin3009 2 года назад +26

      Excellent!
      I find it very tiring to argue with people who have no data, no research, no analysis done. They have swalowed someone else's slogans and regurgitate them...when faced with information from sources they trust otherwise are still capable of disagreeing.

    • @artszabo1015
      @artszabo1015 2 года назад

      @@dredrev You have one missing word and at least four misspellings in a single paragraph in a program that has spell checkers. That indicates to me that you are both stupid and lazy. Now I could be wrong, but you are the one that left the indicators there for all of us to see, so don't get mad at me for the consequences of what you did. It is the slogan of a fool; "How dare you say what I did".

    • @Beregorn88
      @Beregorn88 2 года назад +7

      An excellent example is the "established titles" shitstorm

    • @winnerrevived7497
      @winnerrevived7497 2 года назад +2

      Well said

  • @ramsonit
    @ramsonit 5 месяцев назад +9

    It's amazing how this is so relevant nowadays!!!!

  • @jamesnolan1673
    @jamesnolan1673 3 года назад +83

    Interesting too, is the fact that social media can tend to AMPLIFY this effect. Try and talk out anything online and you can actually feel the virtual cyber piranhas nipping away at your flesh.

    • @crhu319
      @crhu319 3 года назад

      Threaded media are inherently stupid.

    • @drewtorres1660
      @drewtorres1660 3 года назад +3

      This reminds me of Trump supporters

    • @jimandskittum
      @jimandskittum 3 года назад +3

      The majority of the comments on here back up what you are saying. There is a parroting of a bunch of one liner quotes from philosophers and not much original content.

    • @q.e.d.9112
      @q.e.d.9112 3 года назад

      @@jimandskittum
      I don’t think people parroting truisms amounts to the “virtual cyber piranhas” that the OP mentions.

    • @jimandskittum
      @jimandskittum 3 года назад

      @@q.e.d.9112 Thanks for chiming in

  • @coleorum
    @coleorum Год назад +68

    We are all stupid at times. It's part of being a human being. The skill is in recognising when you are.

    • @emcarver8983
      @emcarver8983 5 месяцев назад +5

      To do something stupid is human. We've all done it, but it doesn't make us stupid. Real Stupids rarely act intelligently.

    • @michaeldavisburchat8721
      @michaeldavisburchat8721 3 месяца назад +1

      We all fall for Dunning-Kruger bait.

  • @jaikee9477
    @jaikee9477 2 года назад +191

    In my mind Bonhoeffer was the greatest German of the 20th century. He stood right at the frontline, he risked his life every day publically opposing the Nazis, and he knew they would murder him sooner or later. The definition of courage!

    • @jimyoung9262
      @jimyoung9262 2 года назад +12

      He understood the truth that there are things worse than death. God will judge us all for what we do here on earth and more importantly what we did with the sacrifice of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.

    • @sciencedavedunning3415
      @sciencedavedunning3415 2 года назад +1

      Bonhoeffer sacrificed himself to the same ignorant force as Jesus, and in the same way. In the time between those 2....... there was the Christian murder of Hypatia, the Christian murder of Bruno, the Christian tortures and murders of 700 years worth of French and Spanish inquisitions, the Catholics public burnings of astronomers, naturalists, and pharmacists, the Protestant witch hunts, and even after the burning of 7 women of Salem in the 1600s, who were judged in league with satan, for having memorized thier time tables, ( I am given to understand), the Christian church cult marches on in promoting thier own CHAOS causing dominance and ignorance. Every NAZI was 1st a twisted Christian mind, well before they became a twisted nazi mind. However, ( I am given to understand) THEY will be forgiven only because THEY believe so. It is to LAUGH !

    • @SK-tk6bi
      @SK-tk6bi 2 года назад +6

      @Jim Young I completely agree with only the first line of your comment.

    • @revpgesqredux
      @revpgesqredux 2 года назад +1

      Einstein count as German? Just asking

    • @SK-tk6bi
      @SK-tk6bi 2 года назад +1

      @@revpgesqredux For the most part, I would say yes. He was born and brought up as a German. However, he renounced his German citizenship at the age of 17 and got his higher education from Swiss institutes. He lived in Switzerland for many years after that. I got this information from Wikipedia. You can check it out yourself.

  • @totaldla
    @totaldla Год назад +791

    This explains how people can hate someone they've never met simply because someone told them to.

    • @ОлегПономаренко-ш4ч
      @ОлегПономаренко-ш4ч Год назад +21

      Все просто. Эти люди хотят ненавидеть. Это их потребность.

    • @CarlosFloresP
      @CarlosFloresP Год назад +4

      Exactly what I thought

    • @Diremension
      @Diremension Год назад +16

      @@ОлегПономаренко-ш4ч Hate creates hate. There's so much hate in this world, no wonder people want to vent by hating on others for no particular reason. But this only creates more hate. It's a repetitive cycle

    • @ОлегПономаренко-ш4ч
      @ОлегПономаренко-ш4ч Год назад +8

      @@Diremension выбор всегда за каждым из нас. Кто-то имеет силы и не отвечает злом на зло. Кто-то слаб и труслив и понимая свою слабость, отвечает еще большим злом, надеясь, что теперь его будут считать сильным.

    • @Diremension
      @Diremension Год назад +6

      @@ОлегПономаренко-ш4ч That's partly true. Too many people are choosing the easy route. But it's not a problem of the induvidual in my opinion. It's way bigger than that. I think people need to be taught to not combat hate with hate. If people don't know there is another way, how are they supposed to choose if they think there is only this one option? They are victims themselves that don't know any better I think.
      I'm not trying to excuse this kind of behavior, I'm just trying to rationalize it

  • @marlene-rr2ih
    @marlene-rr2ih 3 года назад +211

    "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." Robert A. Heinlein - Writer (1907 - 1988)

    • @MarcCastellsBallesta
      @MarcCastellsBallesta 3 года назад

      Carlo Cipolla wrote something similar.

    • @rnedlo9909
      @rnedlo9909 3 года назад +2

      We watched the experienced political powers that be fail to heed that advice in 2016.

    • @johnczoykowski132
      @johnczoykowski132 3 года назад +1

      Haven't read my favorite Einstein attribution yet: "Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the first one."

    • @sophiepooks2174
      @sophiepooks2174 4 месяца назад

      @@johnczoykowski132 Shows one how serious he was actually being here. 🙄 It defies logic that a constantly expanding universe could end anywhere 'infinity' means infinite.
      Human history always runs in cycles, there maybe a few generations who never experience war followed by those radicalized by the warmongers keen to go to war as the idea seems so glorious to them. sadly many ignore the past history as failed experiments so we never learn. Lest we forget.

  • @jeffreyphillips4182
    @jeffreyphillips4182 Год назад +274

    I have had my day at stupidity. As a young man and teenager I felt i knew far more than i did. It's called the Dunning/Kruger effect where people think they are smarter than they are.
    But for my part i slowly started to see where my stupidity was leading me down a rat hole of ideology that kept me in the dark to real personal progress and what Maslow called, self-actualization. I was lucky enough to find people willing to guide me and educate me to the real ways of the world, how to question my own mind, and open it to a better way of thinking.
    Im not a highbrow by any means, but at least i have the ability now to think more clearly, and consider where others are right. Im 74 years old now, read much, consider much, and engage in respect for others as well as self-respect. It is the key to an open mind

    • @BruceBoschek
      @BruceBoschek Год назад +22

      Very well put. Only when I realize that I am not as clever as I think I am can I begin to rectify the problem. My vanity does not like this, of course. Thank you for sharing this.

    • @MadScientist267
      @MadScientist267 Год назад +11

      People try to equate knowledge and wisdom with intelligence.
      They are not the same.

    • @ivorfaulkner4768
      @ivorfaulkner4768 Год назад +5

      Socrates( famous for his advice to ‘know thyself’) also is known to have asked ( in humility): ‘what do I know ‘? And Montaigne, the French philosopher, used frequently append his Essays with ‘Que sais-je?’ =‘What do I know?’

    • @StanleypeterDickinson
      @StanleypeterDickinson Год назад +1

      If the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness.

    • @johnhadley7715
      @johnhadley7715 Год назад +5

      Thinking oneself smart - and more significantly - smarter than anyone else is a great and perhaps fatal, error.

  • @peterbonelli5461
    @peterbonelli5461 19 дней назад +17

    Bonhoeffer‘s Theory of Stupidity can easily be updated to Bonhoeffer‘s Theory of MAGA.

  • @richiephillips1541
    @richiephillips1541 2 года назад +571

    In other words, what the heart believes, the mind can justify. If politicians can make people believe that they are victims, their brains can justify it and POOF, automatic votes.

    • @douglass1221
      @douglass1221 2 года назад +20

      New gingrich admitted to this on air during the 2016 election. When presented with fbi facts that crime had gone down in the United States, he said that people didn’t feel that way. He said others can go with facts, he will go with how people feel (and not try to educate them).

    • @stevealexander8010
      @stevealexander8010 2 года назад +11

      A better term might be 'rationalize'. If you prefer to believe something, then you are very likely to find rationalizations and dismiss contrary evidence.

    • @stevealexander8010
      @stevealexander8010 2 года назад +4

      @@douglass1221 I don't think that is on point. Gingrich was certainly referring to peoples beliefs rather than facts influencing elections. The topic is how those beliefs originated.

    • @richiephillips1541
      @richiephillips1541 2 года назад

      @@stevealexander8010 I agree. Thanks

    • @robgraham5697
      @robgraham5697 Год назад +8

      We are not thinking machines that feel. We are feeling machines that think. - Antonio Dimassio

  • @joelluth6384
    @joelluth6384 3 года назад +3870

    The best part is, everyone who watches this thinks it's about everyone else but them

    • @timmanos6524
      @timmanos6524 3 года назад +105

      I'm one of them 😅

    • @bradgeffers1080
      @bradgeffers1080 3 года назад +55

      I was thinking the same thing 👍

    • @rodneymcnabb9830
      @rodneymcnabb9830 3 года назад +71

      EXACTLY! I was reading along, waiting for someone to admit this.

    • @DanDan-eh7ul
      @DanDan-eh7ul 3 года назад +150

      Yep. That's exactly the danger. I first thought this video was about others, but then thought about how I myself am falling prey to some "stupid" tendencies.

    • @KenJackson_US
      @KenJackson_US 3 года назад +82

      No, I was thinking it was about the Nazis.

  • @EllieM_Travels
    @EllieM_Travels Месяц назад +2

    The person who isn’t stupid never says he’s always right, but that he’s willing to look at all angles and take all opinions into consideration.

  • @vercingetorix3414
    @vercingetorix3414 3 года назад +1784

    This sounds to me like what is going on in America today.
    Stupidity is winning.

    • @WhirlOmar
      @WhirlOmar 3 года назад +137

      In today’s world that depends on who you ask. For one side thinks the other side is stupid. But only one side really is. And that is the one that sounds radical and is about to bring this country into one like the Germany that this video is talking about.

    • @jankompos2330
      @jankompos2330 3 года назад +31

      sadly satan is winning yes,for now wait for the half time

    • @clocktower1164
      @clocktower1164 3 года назад +110

      America has been very stupid for a very long time.

    • @erniebuchinski3614
      @erniebuchinski3614 3 года назад +69

      Anyone who thinks that it's really that much different here in Europe really needs to get out of the house more often, so to speak.

    • @user-ft7fq4ou4v
      @user-ft7fq4ou4v 3 года назад +14

      @@WhirlOmar just out of curiosity, which side do you view that to be? Seeing as you're going with Nazis, not communists, I think I can guess, but both sides see the other as the truly stupid one.

  • @gohantanaka
    @gohantanaka 3 года назад +85

    Go pick up a biography on Bonhoeffer. It’s well worth the read.
    But I slightly disagree with Bonhoeffer here. I think we are fighting a dangerous combination of both. The malice of those in charge with the stupidity of their followers.

    • @brianmalexander
      @brianmalexander 3 года назад +7

      They wouldnt be in power if it weren't for the stupidity of the followers.

    • @vlogcity1111
      @vlogcity1111 3 года назад +1

      @@brianmalexander yes but nonetheless it adds another layer of pain
      Being ruled by a malevolent leader with stupid followers. If a ruler was benevolent it wouldn’t be so bad

    • @bobfowler393
      @bobfowler393 3 года назад +1

      Turn to Robespierre for the root. The aristocracy uses the simple minded to carry out their will, because the simple minded want to be thought of as important, and do anything that gains acceptance.

    • @elviram3360
      @elviram3360 3 года назад

      @@bobfowler393 what makes you think that YOU aren't simple minded? Also, just because somebody is slower doesn't mean that they are any less important than you or anyone else. People with highly inflated opinions of themselves need to think about their own stupidity, and if people like others with overinflated egos

    • @bobfowler393
      @bobfowler393 3 года назад +3

      @@elviram3360 I'm sorry if you misunderstood what I am saying. I am not calling anyone simple minded. I am saying that those in power tend to target those more easily manipulated, to create the appearance of greater support, which causes others who are also lacking information, to hop on the bandwagon, rather than learn for themselves. It is a basic tenet of Robespierre, carried out today, to restrict knowledge in order to control authority.

  • @germaineboatwala-sidhva1079
    @germaineboatwala-sidhva1079 3 года назад +88

    The reason stupidity is a moral issue is because there's unwillingness to listen to anyone but oneself, and a laziness to want to do anything with new information. The comfort zone is prime, armchair laziness, "oh bother " attitude. It's a moral failure because one's responsibility in speaking up or action are all missing.

    • @earlchristian2166
      @earlchristian2166 3 года назад

      I didn't see it that way. I understood it to be group think where one does not analyze the effect of what is happening and it's consequences and go's along with their party (group)

    • @willchristie2650
      @willchristie2650 3 года назад +6

      I have found to my shock that there are a lot of stupid people running around the internet commenting on videos or articles without watching or reading. They simply see a title and start ranting and raving. Stupidity incarnate. Yesterday, I watched a video about how human population in certain countries may begin to plummet as the century progresses. The video gave logical reasons for this. Yet comment after comment claimed that population reduction was a massive Leftist conspiracy and that is why they support abortion, and how Alex Jones is right about everything, blah, blah, blah. Incredulously, I asked "Did any of you bother to watch the video?" This resulted in my being personally bashed as a Leftist. Is it stupidity or madness?

    • @mentalprogram5256
      @mentalprogram5256 3 года назад

      @@louiss3409 He made an attempt to kill the most evil man in history. I call him a moral genius.

    • @mentalprogram5256
      @mentalprogram5256 3 года назад +2

      @@willchristie2650 I have to say and no joke. Have you actually look into how often Alex Jones has been rite? I am not a fan but damn maybe I should be.

    • @Layarion
      @Layarion 3 года назад +1

      well there are a lot of lazy people that let the left get control of media, and now you see what they're doing with that power. this place will be a lot like china sooner than you would have thought possible.

  • @DadHominem
    @DadHominem День назад +1

    "It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong." -Thomas Sowell
    We've certainly seen 4 years of this playing out publicly.

  • @jasonayres
    @jasonayres 3 года назад +337

    "I can tolerate insanity,
    But I can't deal with stupidity."
    Thanks Dad.

    • @eymed2023
      @eymed2023 3 года назад +2

      What's the difference?

    • @decab8292
      @decab8292 3 года назад +5

      @@eymed2023
      woof !

    • @eymed2023
      @eymed2023 3 года назад +4

      @@decab8292 Uh...what?
      Why are you imitating a dog noise out of a sudden?
      Where talking about human beings, not dogs.

    • @decab8292
      @decab8292 3 года назад +4

      @@eymed2023
      You asked the difference between stupidity and insanity.
      Answer: Woof 😉

    • @seanleith5312
      @seanleith5312 3 года назад +1

      This is very precise description of political left of today and very precise description of university professor, students, 99% of Hollywood. Only places not infested are those who have suffer from the communist hell: Russian, China, Poland, Hungary.

  • @REVOLUTIONREVEALS
    @REVOLUTIONREVEALS 3 года назад +135

    Intelligence is innate, stupidity is taught. Bonhoeffer was spot on here and neuroscience can now explain directly why people react so negatively when their taught beliefs are challenged.

    • @brianoconnor3407
      @brianoconnor3407 2 года назад +6

      Just have to add that lack of intelligence is also innate.

    • @SmallSpoonBrigade
      @SmallSpoonBrigade 2 года назад +5

      I'm still trying to know how he knew about my wife...

    • @jantelopez5626
      @jantelopez5626 2 года назад +1

      do explain the neuro bit

    • @leecowell8165
      @leecowell8165 2 года назад

      Stupidity is the lack of intellect. you're born with one or the other and neither of those traits are "taught". Its all about DNA. However one hasta be careful. Why? Because almost ALL of us have critical thinking in one or more areas regardless of IQ. its just that with the lack of IQ things take longer (within your interest area). Also you may never find your interest area (where you are naturally "good" at). the Far East tests children at early ages to determine WHERE those natural abilities lie. We should do the same. However this country treats our young ones like a new wave of sheep.

    • @LynSmithmusic
      @LynSmithmusic 2 года назад +1

      Beautifully said.

  • @aleenaprasannan2146
    @aleenaprasannan2146 3 года назад +175

    The active denial and dismissal of any thoughts that challenge their current perception, is the most convincing evidence that stupidity is indeed a moral degradation. And that is how ignorance and stupidity differ as well. There should be a strong moral obstacle to actively deny information and willfully remain, or more precisely pretend to be willfully ignorant.
    In my opinion, stupidity also indicates cowardice because listening to and accepting challenging thoughts and then accepting that you were wrong requires a bit of courage to be self critical and emotional security to accept that humbling and evolve as a person.

    • @TheCommonS3Nse
      @TheCommonS3Nse 3 года назад +4

      I think you’ve nailed it. It’s also important to listen to and seriously consider an argument, even when the argument may be flawed. If it is in the popular discourse, then it must have some aspect of truth to it. There is value in finding that truth in a sea of misinformation. It helps you to understand why someone believes something, which gives you insight into how you can have a positive discourse with them. A positive discourse is far more likely to enlighten someone to the points they may not have considered than a confrontational interaction.

    • @MeeCee5204
      @MeeCee5204 3 года назад +5

      So are you saying that stupidity is not a lack of intelligence, but rather an unwillingness to accept facts?

    • @aleenaprasannan2146
      @aleenaprasannan2146 3 года назад +2

      @@MeeCee5204 Yes. Will we call someone challenged in arithmetic skills but use a calculator, stupid or Will you say someone who adamantly refuse to use calculators even for complex calculations because they are not challenged, is stupid

    • @nukiradio
      @nukiradio 3 года назад +7

      @@MeeCee5204 it's the byproduct of a disposition that basically says "I shouldn't have to know. I shouldn't have to think. I shouldn't have to learn. I should have to change."
      And all their thought power goes into maintaining this posture

    • @pravinchandrapanchal1423
      @pravinchandrapanchal1423 3 года назад +1

      You may know others , only & accordingly to your knowledge of your own self - by Unknown...... Stupidity can be jus a beautiful label of our own illusion & dillusion & also can be a label - product of our deeply rooted very many layers of our conditioning or belief system & prejudices since birth by self-ego , parents, family , society, country , surroundings as well & it's very much relative & dynamic in that sense, for eg - if i am born in such a far remote villeage & living in deepest forest in any of tribal community , where people don't wear any cloth whole of their life & by chance group of younge she/he/lgbt+(classic example of our conditioning too) tribal group travel to metro city then it's more likely that majority of people of city , will see, act, think , behave with those tribal group with the conditioning, for any of their normal activity with label of stupidity for all of our so called educated/metro people & so stupidity is jus label of our internal verbal circus of yakadiyak mind conditioning only, if one is really wana go to it's actual depth & details for it's root cause & origin, which is nothing but our human's ever changing Mind-Spegetti & thoughts which generally gives such labels to all & everything , as this , that & others.. It's remind me to one of most enchanting insights from Famous Mystic Master of last century George Gurdjieff - "We all are born in sleep , live in sleep & die in sleep only , we generally never ever really awake whole of our life" or hope you all might already aware about, look a like stupid act of great greek master diogenes (walkin with a lamp in a day light & when ask reason - said - searching for a human , actually showing very very deep insightful reflection of our self iife illusions only.

  • @sc503-vetnut
    @sc503-vetnut 3 дня назад +1

    I made a prediction on the comment section even before finishing the video. It always amazes me how people who think the other side is so dominated by "stupid" people fails to see the "stupidity" on their own side. I don't think stupid is the best description of these people. I think blinded might be more accurate. Only when we can step out of our own biases can we listen with comprehension and be able to make adjustments to our beliefs.

  • @TEAforMIND
    @TEAforMIND 3 года назад +2208

    "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups."
    _George Carlin.

  • @buffstraw2969
    @buffstraw2969 3 года назад +443

    "Knowing ignorance is strength, but ignoring knowledge is sickness." - Lao Tzu

    • @clocktower1164
      @clocktower1164 3 года назад +16

      The most important part of 'know thyself' is to know our own ignorance and our own arrogance.

    • @5uperM
      @5uperM 3 года назад +3

      @@clocktower1164 very true.

    • @kenlieck7756
      @kenlieck7756 3 года назад +1

      @@clocktower1164 Knowing how the brain works is a vital part of this.

  • @8Robba
    @8Robba 3 года назад +47

    "Actions springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility. The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children."
    - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

  • @brownlettuce1810
    @brownlettuce1810 10 месяцев назад +5

    So Bonhoeffer felt stupidity can’t be fixed? Brilliant !

  • @bonniethompson2019
    @bonniethompson2019 Год назад +139

    People blame social media, but I think it goes back way further than that.

    • @jessicarea8054
      @jessicarea8054 8 месяцев назад +5

      Well, yeah, considering this person was an anti-nazi activist.

    • @ZeeFlynn-b3f
      @ZeeFlynn-b3f 8 месяцев назад

      Absolutely correct. However, social media, having what one writes as a comment appear online no matter how stupid it is, along with finding countless others online just as stupid as themselves has empowered the imbeciles to an unprecedented level.

    • @TheoSprinkles
      @TheoSprinkles 7 месяцев назад

      Social media gave them a tool. Never before have stupid people been able to unite so easily.

    • @danielfaress9879
      @danielfaress9879 7 месяцев назад +4

      Russia And China Situation would Upset Men Like This Man

    • @JZsBFF
      @JZsBFF 7 месяцев назад +14

      You've got a point, Bonnie. To me social media is more like the carrier and the catalyst, rather than cause. People, who never even cared about reading a single book, suddenly have a megaphone at their disposal! In the past their nonsense didn't go beyond their limited bar circle of intimates. Now the world is within their grasp. Because we already know about the seduction of the dark side, education becomes paramount!

  • @weepat5325
    @weepat5325 3 года назад +66

    1)“Youth ages, immaturity is outgrown, ignorance can be educated, and drunkenness sobered, but stupid lasts forever.” (Aristophanes) 2) "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain." (Friedrich Schiller)

    • @r0bw00d
      @r0bw00d 3 года назад +6

      "...immaturity is outgrown..."
      Not anymore. Now we have an entire generation of people who refuse to grow up, yet still insist upon being treated like an adult.

    • @Megan-ii4gf
      @Megan-ii4gf 3 года назад +1

      Stupidity lasts as long as you choose to walk in place. You can still find yourself. Immaturity however... Not everyone outgrows that, and some people grow into it. Most people are incredibly intelligent, you know. Just... Not all the time...

    • @jankompos2330
      @jankompos2330 3 года назад +1

      @@r0bw00d yep the world is becoming a circus and some clowns hit back for no reason

    • @jankompos2330
      @jankompos2330 3 года назад

      @@Megan-ii4gf brain needs to pause like the great Mark Twain said,who was by the way a freemason

  • @demman8081
    @demman8081 3 года назад +636

    This explains a lot about what's going on in the good ol' USA. Makes sense.

    • @braedenaubrey725
      @braedenaubrey725 3 года назад +8

      True

    • @sargkookie3118
      @sargkookie3118 3 года назад +7

      Indeed

    • @jsharp3165
      @jsharp3165 3 года назад +43

      The rest is explained by the fact that no one thinks they are the stupid one.

    • @DerpaTurtle
      @DerpaTurtle 3 года назад +5

      There is 329 million people in the us obviously some of them are going to be stupid

    • @Starssinger
      @Starssinger 3 года назад +41

      @@DerpaTurtle Many of them are now in Texas waiting for resurrection of JFK Jr.

  • @63yearoldskater
    @63yearoldskater 4 дня назад +2

    To his point about stupidity being a sociological issue, reference Gustave La Bon of France, author of "The Crowd" and considered the father of the study of Collective Behavior.
    In his book, he argued that in a crowd the level of intelligence decreased to the lowest common denominator. We often see that today anywhere a crowd gathers, depending on the kind of leadership that emerges. It's a great read, and gives in depth observations and arguments that certainly give credence to Bonhoeffer's thinking

    • @sprouts
      @sprouts  3 дня назад +1

      Thanks! Sounds compelling! I might give that a read.

  • @usarmysniper682006
    @usarmysniper682006 Год назад +1081

    "Never confuse education with intelligence, you can have a PhD and still be an idiot." Richard Feynman

    • @rishz7857
      @rishz7857 Год назад +19

      P - public
      H - high school
      D - diploma

    • @alecfoster4413
      @alecfoster4413 Год назад

      BS: Bull Sh*t
      MS: More of the Same
      PhD: Piled higher and Deeper

    • @ronaldharding3927
      @ronaldharding3927 Год назад +14

      Yes, but an intelligent man will be thought stupid without education.

    • @OnerousEthic
      @OnerousEthic Год назад +8

      Oh how I revere Feynman!!!

    • @zbk343
      @zbk343 Год назад +3

      rich and poor also...
      Lot of rich just greed...

  • @rustymason3860
    @rustymason3860 3 года назад +67

    "It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so." -- Will Rogers

  • @edwardkirby8858
    @edwardkirby8858 3 года назад +449

    "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
    -- Hanlon's Razor

    • @johnleonatti8573
      @johnleonatti8573 3 года назад +19

      Never attribute to stupidity that which is adequately explained by malice. This fits the current administration and wokeness in general.

    • @Tupelo927
      @Tupelo927 3 года назад +4

      @@johnleonatti8573 What is "wokeness?"

    • @jobob47
      @jobob47 2 года назад +9

      @@Tupelo927 the absolute certainty in your own victimhood.

    • @maxcovfefe
      @maxcovfefe 2 года назад +12

      @@Tupelo927 in general, when I see people complaining about "wokeness" it usually means they don't feel like being polite. They want permission to be rude. "Woke" seems to be the awareness of modern manners, such a being mindful of other people's pronouns, respecting different cultures, sexual orientations, religions, races, and so forth. Woke is usually someone who embraces globalism. "Not Woke" is someone who would rather not globalize and outright rejects most new social norms in favor of older more traditional (aka "natural") norms.

    • @keesdenheijer7283
      @keesdenheijer7283 2 года назад +4

      @@johnleonatti8573
      That's not a razor, that's stupidity.

  • @smokeykitty6023
    @smokeykitty6023 3 месяца назад +8

    3:04 "The power of the one needs the stupidity of the people." Sounds a lot like current politics in America.

  • @chiarayavhnoska966
    @chiarayavhnoska966 3 года назад +68

    “10 percent of any population is cruel, no matter what, and 10 percent is merciful, no matter what, and the remaining 80 percent can be moved in either direction.”
    ― Susan Sontag

    • @kellykeefe3610
      @kellykeefe3610 3 года назад +3

      This is something I believed all my adult life. Throughout human history, a small percent of the population is predisposed to do the wrong things in life.

    • @brianmi40
      @brianmi40 3 года назад

      If you carefully tally, you will find that about 25% of humanity falls into Hillary's "deplorable" category:
      Anarchists, Criminals, Cruel, Insane, Sociopath, Psychopath, Destructive, Racist, Misogynist, destructive Drug user, Thief, Abusive, Molester, Sexual Deviant, and the huge numbers that ACT AGAINST THEIR SELF INTERESTS.
      1 in 4.

    • @mackychloe
      @mackychloe 3 года назад

      And the other 10%
      Oh, wait.

    • @sriku1000
      @sriku1000 3 года назад +1

      A Very beautiful Video On, How Your Reality is Controlled by your thoughts and you dont even know it ruclips.net/video/RAw8OxEj-Rg/видео.html

    • @jackmiddleton2080
      @jackmiddleton2080 3 года назад

      Ironic. I am pretty sure Hitler said the same thing.

  • @mikescarborough9196
    @mikescarborough9196 2 года назад +37

    One of the most contemporaneously relevant videos in the context of modern American society I've ever seen. Current events in the US have left me baffled, but this helps to make sense of it all.

  • @DrFaust-tb9nw
    @DrFaust-tb9nw 3 года назад +1357

    " The enemy of intelligence is not ignorance but the illusion of intelligence " - Stephen Hawking

    • @bobomaigret5430
      @bobomaigret5430 3 года назад +18

      Donald Trump is a demagogue who appeals to the lowest common denominator.
      --- Stephen Hawking

    • @dyfrigshandy
      @dyfrigshandy 3 года назад +8

      Partly true/wrong, its BOTH

    • @dyfrigshandy
      @dyfrigshandy 3 года назад +17

      @@bobomaigret5430 its you who said that, not stephen. Must be so stupid and desperate to say something from urself but tag others

    • @oz9220
      @oz9220 3 года назад +3

      @@dyfrigshandy I cannot confirm if it is from Stephen Hawkins but i can say is that the quote in the internet instead of intelligence, they replaced with knowledge.

    • @TheBayzent
      @TheBayzent 3 года назад +8

      @@dyfrigshandy Bobo is under the illusion he is being intelligent with that ruse.

  • @MegaWaylander
    @MegaWaylander 3 года назад +89

    Goes to show the old saying " when we all think alike, we don't think at all" is correct.

    • @libertariantranslator1929
      @libertariantranslator1929 3 года назад +1

      The Solomon Asch experiment quantified this, and has been repeated countless times. Yet social pressure and censorship control many decisions.

    • @theone8331
      @theone8331 3 года назад +2

      Sheeple

    • @anti-fascist52
      @anti-fascist52 7 месяцев назад

      This describes religious beliefs totally!

  • @casesusa
    @casesusa 3 года назад +207

    "A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims but accomplices." George Orwell
    FJB

    • @nyyotam4057
      @nyyotam4057 3 года назад +2

      Ricky Gervais, not Orwell. I found this quote in one of his shows at around 2015 and its the earliest it appears on the web.

    • @marisamartin3664
      @marisamartin3664 3 года назад +2

      If they are aware of corruption and abuse. However I feel with the internet especially, few politicians can keep their past and current actions secret for long.

    • @uno1087
      @uno1087 3 года назад

      FDT

    • @LindeeLou-who
      @LindeeLou-who 3 года назад +2

      The American people are electing the right politicians but are being deceived by the corrupt into believing elections are not rigged.

    • @Misslotusification
      @Misslotusification 2 года назад +2

      Whoever is elected, it's the government that rules.