So the question is - How could stupidity become the most universally acknowledged attribute of mankind?

A curious question to say the least. After all, one need only point to the remarkable achievements of modern technology, the sensitivity in orchestrating the delicate intricacies of a great symphony or masterpiece of art, the awe inspiring constructs of architecture standing in testament to our ingenuity, intellect, and imagination. Viewed in context of the many works of genius produced by mankind, the question itself immediately raises its opposing question - How stupid could we be?

Popular Opinion

Normally our exploration would begin by utilizing Random Word Stimulation to incite the discovery of new perspectives from which to contemplate the issue. However, in this unusual situation we are dealing with a subject that is already well known - rather incredibly well known at that. In fact in this particular case it is the very popularity of the contention itself that is in question. Under the circumstances perhaps the best way to start would be to query mankind directly and thereby challenge the veracity of the contention from its source.

To this end I began to make a point of revealing our unanticipated discovery to friends and acquaintances at social gatherings or casual meetings. For the sake of obtaining thorough and unbiased feedback from the largest possible cross section of people I made sure to broach the subject of our discovery with complete strangers at every opportunity.

What the People Say

As it turned out, their reaction was even more alarming than the contention itself. The response was consistent from everyone queried regardless of age, level of education, gender, profession, financial position, social stature or station in life, save only the odd rare exception.

Overall the response could be distilled into two distinct components:

1. By far the most startling revelation was that everyone was in complete agreement. Body language in this case was even more telling than verbal response. Each participant exhibited a characteristic medley of gestures. Predominate among these; it was the combination of a distant inward gaze focused in view of some inner vision, coupled with a gentle knowing smile, which signaled the unmistakable sign. I would never lay claim to psychic powers, and yet upon witnessing this classic reaction to my query I couldn't help but feel some kind of vague spiritual empathy, as if for those brief few moments a faded window in my own mind appeared through which their inner thoughts were revealed. My vision, though blurred to detail, revealed crystal clear that each person was experiencing their own intimate associations to past events of their lives, lucid memories that bore the undeniable truth of the matter at hand.

2. It was also clear by what people said, and perhaps even more by what they didn’t say, that the thought never entered their minds to consider themselves in personal possession of this most eminent attribute of humanity.

Page 2 of 10 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 .. | Next