These Facebook memes, or whatever you want to call them, seem to be all the rage these days. I can’t begin to tell you how many I have seen in the last little while, and normally I either chuckle or go: “Really.” Of course, the supposed “quotes” are most often not uttered by the person in the photo behind them…come on, that would be asking too much! I am not sure why this one grabbed my attention for more than a millisecond, but it did. Later that night, when I looked at it again, a few things popped into my head that I thought would be worth exploring. Firstly, I went digging to see if I could find who might have uttered these words of wisdom. No such luck. The closest I could get to, after way too much time searching, was a notation from “StarndedonEarth” (ya gotta love the name) that had the above aphorism followed by, source: murky. Even after this, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had read something vaguely similar many years ago…hmmm.
So, back to the keyboard I went. It took a while, but I finally found what I was looking for, and it goes like this: “The problem with the world is that intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence,” (Charles Bukowski 1920-1994). Now, “we live in a time,” is certainly interchangeable with “the problem with the world,” “doubts” is swapped for “silenced,” and “full of confidence” becomes “won’t be offended.” The last one doesn’t swap out as well, but the sentiment is the same. And of course, “intelligent” and “stupid” are the status quo. However, did Bukowski start this worldly observation? Back to the keyboard, and here is what I found. Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), the British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, social critic, political activist and Nobel laureate had this to say about his world: “…those who feel certainly are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision.” Going back even further, much further and you get none other than Shakespeare (1564-1616): “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” Apparently “we” have been thinking about this for a long time.
Secondly, there are two words in the most recent iteration and Bukowski’s that I felt needed some clarification, if that is at all possible. What is intelligence? What is stupid? Whose barometer are we using to determine who belongs to one category or the other? For example, when it comes to “stupid,” are we talking about the politically incorrect term for someone who is mentally challenged or are we using the word as a cultural/slang label for someone we deem to be somewhat beneath us. You know like (use whatever accent you want): “Did you hear what so-and-so said? He/she’s soooo stupid.” And what about intelligence? Isn’t it also one of those nebulous states of being? When we use the word, are we referring to academic achievement, business acumen, entrepreneurial skills, or perhaps we just mean “street smart?” Which one sticks out for you as being the closest definition of intelligence? The dictionary defines it as: “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills,” which is somewhat straightforward, until, of course, you start thinking about what “knowledge” really means. Adulting is tough!
What happens if you apply any of the above to what is going on politically in this country right now? I would answer this, but I’m tired and I need to go to bed.
Los Angeles 2024
Love the current iteration, and all its antecedents. Some things never really change. But I do know I’m intelligent and Trump is stupid. So there.
Seems like I’m not the only one that tries to track this stuff down. Mind you I don’t achieve the kind of success you did with this one.
The older I get and the more I’ve learned, I’ve come to realize I really know so little in the overall scheme of things. Stupid (more accurately ‘ignorant’) people think they know all there is for them to know, unwilling to venture beyond their limited comfort zones or information bubbles to learn more.