Chronicling the competency crisis across the world

[StudiedAsleep]

I miss the days when I felt like I was under-average in terms of intellect, where I looked to others and thought... man, I want to be as smart as they are, know what they know, etc... and it drove me to learn new things, expand my understanding, etc...

Now I look around and a lot of the people are in positions that I used to think required a lot of effort and ability, but are so completely stupid they lack even the most basic concepts of rational thought. I feel way out of place for my time.

Most people are incapable of thinking critically.

[rusty_shackleford]

I miss the days when I felt like I was under-average in terms of intellect, where I looked to others and thought... man, I want to be as smart as they are, know what they know, etc... and it drove me to learn new things, expand my understanding, etc...

Now I look around and a lot of the people are in positions that I used to think required a lot of effort and ability, but are so completely stupid they lack even the most basic concepts of rational thought. I feel way out of place for my time.

the fruits of nepotism
This is why a lot of "conspiracy theorists" think there's secret organizations behind the scenes pulling the strings. They just can't accept that the people in charge are that stupid, that there isn't some grand plan that was carefully thought out and been executed. There must actually be some secret shadow group orchestrating the anarchy. It is coping with cognitive dissonance.
Similar reason you keep seeing the phrase "impostor syndrome" pop up from the other side. It's not impostor syndrome, they really don't belong where they've been put. It's how their mind reconciles what they think should be with what it actually is.

[Acrux]

I had a professor in the 90s who had a hypothesis that as the population increases people will inevitably become dumber. He based this on the Law of Conservation of Mass. (He himself wasn't very smart.)

[rusty_shackleford]

I had a professor in the 90s who had a hypothesis that as the population increases people will inevitably become dumber. He based this on the Law of Conservation of Mass. (He himself wasn't very smart.)

Well, he's right for the wrong reasons. Average undergraduate now has an IQ below that of a highschool graduate in 1940. We're undergoing a reverse Flynn effect, of course anyone who is politically incorrect could easily guess why this is so. And for those who aren't, they'll spend billions to find reasons to explain why it's anything other than that.

[gerey]

This is why a lot of "conspiracy theorists" think there's secret organizations behind the scenes pulling the strings. They just can't accept that the people in charge are that stupid, that there isn't some grand plan that was carefully thought out and been executed. There must actually be some secret shadow group orchestrating the anarchy. It is coping with cognitive dissonance.

Yes, conspiracy theories are partially the result of cope - people would rather entertain the fantasy that there is some sort of plan in place, no matter how malicious, that someone is in control, rather than to come face to face with the realization that the world is chaos.

However, none of your statements necessarily contradict each other. The people in charge can be stupid, can be part of a secret cabal, and can be plotting something nefarious.

Arguably, at any given time there are several shadowy conspiracies and cabals plotting away, with varying degrees of competency, power and resources at their disposal, oftentimes with contradictory goals. It's very silly to assume that the people in power aren't plotting to retain or obtain more power just because they're mostly incompetent midwits.

[Roguey]

I miss the days when I felt like I was under-average in terms of intellect, where I looked to others and thought... man, I want to be as smart as they are, know what they know, etc... and it drove me to learn new things, expand my understanding, etc...

Now I look around and a lot of the people are in positions that I used to think required a lot of effort and ability, but are so completely stupid they lack even the most basic concepts of rational thought. I feel way out of place for my time.

the fruits of nepotism
This is why a lot of "conspiracy theorists" think there's secret organizations behind the scenes pulling the strings. They just can't accept that the people in charge are that stupid, that there isn't some grand plan that was carefully thought out and been executed. There must actually be some secret shadow group orchestrating the anarchy. It is coping with cognitive dissonance.
Similar reason you keep seeing the phrase "impostor syndrome" pop up from the other side. It's not impostor syndrome, they really don't belong where they've been put. It's how their mind reconciles what they think should be with what it actually is.

[Xenich]

I had a professor in the 90s who had a hypothesis that as the population increases people will inevitably become dumber. He based this on the Law of Conservation of Mass. (He himself wasn't very smart.)

Well, he's right for the wrong reasons. Average undergraduate now has an IQ below that of a highschool graduate in 1940. We're undergoing a reverse Flynn effect, of course anyone who is politically incorrect could easily guess why this is so. And for those who aren't, they'll spend billions to find reasons to explain why it's anything other than that.

That is interesting. You see the same thing when you look at text books from early US education. The language and writing alone with early age texts make many collegiate level texts today look like they are for special education students.