Idiocracy

[IceC80]

Yeah...so who else has seen this film and truly thinks this is the fate of America? *raises hand*

This topic was prompted by the comments in this youtube section:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eswXirkgx14&playnext_from=TL&videos=iVG3mf1hgJY&feature=featured

 

[JustBusiness17]

Yeah...so who else has seen this film and truly thinks this is the fate of America? *raises hand*

This topic was prompted by the comments in this youtube section:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eswXirkgx14&playnext_from=TL&videos=iVG3mf1hgJY&feature=featured

Considering:
-Intelligent people are concerned about sustainability and overpopulation
<and>
-Ignorant people are concerned about being fruitful and multiplying

I would say that the general premise of the movie is sound...

As for the video, it was inspiring to see so many socially conscious young adults with noble aspirations. On the other hand:

What do you expect, they're still kids. Let's see them, again in a few years after they've attended the University of Real Life and have to work for a living. And to the dude talking about how we have so much and so many have so little, I got news for him. We worked for it and we earned it through innovation, perspiration, and determination. If he wants to make the world a better place, join the Peace Corps or volunteer, do something other than spewing lazy left wing rhetoric.

I agree with the fact that they are still young and will experience an attitude change once their exposed to the real world, however, it will not be from working for a living. Their change will come at the realization that the system is broken in such a way that it's almost impossible to fix. Part of the reason for that is because there are too many people who share the same attitude as this youtube commenter and will fight with a passion to prevent any type of progress...

The world is fucked :geek:


For those of you who don't know what Idiocracy is, here's the trailer. It's based on the idea that only the stupidest people continue to breed in light of an increasingly pessimistic future...

 

[Anachronous Rex]

I'm with xkcd on this one:

 

[JustBusiness17]

I'm with xkcd on this one:

I'm offended although I could see the how the ignorantly optimistic could have a certain charm over the cynically pessimistic... That makes me even more sad :cry:

:lol:

 

[Case]

Well the 'dragging IQ scores' is a pretty obvious sign of ignorance. May I (I always wanted to do this) refer you to my youtube video? I explain what IQ scores are and that should illustrate that it is impossible for them to actually rise or fall (because the average is defined and the other scores are derived). What can happen, of course, is that the actual test scores as achieved by the sample used for the re-normalization (before standardization) are higher or lower than the ones achieved by the original sample. The steady rise of these scores is called the Flynn effect - and it is pretty much explainable by the familiarity with taking IQ tests. People don't actually become more 'intelligent'. Then again it's debatable whether intelligence tests measure intelligence at all (as that's a fuzzy concept altogether).

 

[Anachronous Rex]

I'm offended although I could see the how the ignorantly optimistic could have a certain charm over the cynically pessimistic... That makes me even more sad :cry:

:lol:

It's not so much optimism as much as it is that the founding premise is wrong. In European societies the affluent have never reproduced more then the destitute. Indeed, many committed dynastic suicide via cloistering as far back as the Early Middle Ages, Newton was a virgin, etc; I dare say we've seen some progress since then in spite of it.

I would wager that evolution is still selecting for intelligence, but (as always) of the social variety first and foremost. Our ability to do maths and whatnot is a fortuitous side-effect.

 

[Lallapalalable]

I think the core of the message is true, to a degree, where it no longer matters whether or not you are stronger or smarter, and just about everyone can successfully pass their genes and behaviors along. However, I do notice a social decay in the rising "Generation Y", aptly named the "Me First" generation, where everyone thinks that despite the ammount of work they do they are entitled to the same benefits as everyone else. But, I think that's a topic for another thread.

Anyway, I did like the movie, and FSM help us if it foreshadows the future, even exaggeratedly.

 

[CosmicSpork]

I really like the movie... I often point people toward it when I see something particularly stupid happen on the news etc... I use it as an extreme example of course, I don't expect it'd get to the point it does in the movie. We'll have blown ourselves up way before then