One In Five Is A Dumb-Ass

“Those who opposed this war have been proven right, and those who advocated it have been proven wrong.” –Charley Reese

Sing it, brother.

As predicted, news of the findings of a British study that men may have higher average IQs than women has spawned much emotional reaction. My favourite is this one from The Scotsman. It’s sad that the writer begins with the assumption that the supposedly male researchers have “an axe to grind.” As I suggested yesterday, these findings have no bearing on anything. They might indicate that men are better at, or are more motivated by, the writing of these particular kinds of standardized tests than are women– but this does not necessarily translate to greater intelligence. And even if it did, human history has shown that men and women have always contribute equally, though in different ways, to the progress of civilization.

Thus it’s saddening to see a woman “journalist” respond with such venom. The methodology of the study is fair game. The motivations of the researchers, as yet unknown, are not. Ask yourself what the outcome would have been if the study had found the opposite, that women score higher on IQ tests than do men. A hint is given from a post from this online forum:

“Haven’t these researchers seen any sitcom in the last 20 years? Don’t they
know that all men are knuckle dragging, yet lovable dimwits, who somehow
manage to earn a living and support a hot wife who is always right?”

I think this relates to what I see as our society’s growing disdain for men and boys, which is a topic for another blog post. (And I’m sure that one’s going to be a doozy of a comment-fest!)

In my constant quest to see my right to look at dirty pictures sustained, I draw your attention to U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta who recently identified as the top law enforcement priority for the American government –not terrorism, organized crime or narcotics– but obscenity. Yep, you read that right. Prepare yourself for another morality crusade, this time against mere boobies and schlongs. The dumbification of the American populace continues.

Want proof? One in five Americans still believes the Sun revolves around the Earth. Such dumb-assery is startling enough, but it does not necessarily follow that the remaining 80% can do differential equations. Rather, I submit that a large contingent are scientifically underinformed and critically unequipped. This, for example, fully explains the inability of otherwise intelligent people to see through the mumbo-jumbo that masquerades as the science “undermining” claims of Climate Change. And it completely explains the public’s easy manipulation by economists who don’t fully understand their own quasi-science. It might even explain why so many fools voted for Bush.