Nah, that would be great news. Being dumber than anyone you’ve ever met makes you less responsible for things like climate change and political violence than the people around you (morally, at least; you’re probably literally more of a cause, because you’re more likely to be right wing, but if you’ve already jumped that hurdle, maybe you aren’t). Plus, if your own life is a wreck, it feels better to blame an inherent limitation than something you could change, if only you had the discipline. If your own life is great, you’ve overcome a serious obstacle and should be proud of yourself.
If anyone disagrees, I’d love to hear your reasoning, because this is now stuck in my brain.
I don’t want to become stupider, but if I had the choice between finding out today that my IQ is and always has been 70 and that it is and always has been 170, I’d be much less disappointed in myself with the former. Obviously, if I could then learn how to harness it, that would be different, but it’s not like I haven’t been trying my whole life to do well and use my talents.
idiomaddict@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Nah, that would be great news. Being dumber than anyone you’ve ever met makes you less responsible for things like climate change and political violence than the people around you (morally, at least; you’re probably literally more of a cause, because you’re more likely to be right wing, but if you’ve already jumped that hurdle, maybe you aren’t). Plus, if your own life is a wreck, it feels better to blame an inherent limitation than something you could change, if only you had the discipline. If your own life is great, you’ve overcome a serious obstacle and should be proud of yourself.
idiomaddict@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
If anyone disagrees, I’d love to hear your reasoning, because this is now stuck in my brain.
I don’t want to become stupider, but if I had the choice between finding out today that my IQ is and always has been 70 and that it is and always has been 170, I’d be much less disappointed in myself with the former. Obviously, if I could then learn how to harness it, that would be different, but it’s not like I haven’t been trying my whole life to do well and use my talents.