In addition to the many other fine comments here, I will add that when you think someone is so stupid there is often something missing. You may not understand what information they are acting on or you might be interpreting the context according to different values than theirs. As an observer, not understanding someone else’s choice can feel exactly like “damn what a stupid choice.” I try as much as I can to take these as opportunities to dig further and use my imagination to figure out what they must be thinking. Occasionally I come up with something.
I appreciate your outlook and empathy. I think I’m smart. I know I ignore certain things and probably look stupid. But you are absolutely right that you can’t know what exact information they’re working with as the basis for decisions/statements/opinions. Being able to identify some base misconception can bring about resolution so fast. I still have sudden realizations that uproot some belief I had based on some bullshit my dad said decades ago. If you never had reason to question it, it doesn’t enter the critical reasoning part of your head.
Only example off the top of my head is he once said tetanus was, effectively, caused by dogs urinating on rusty metal. I was probably under 10, who am I to question? Well, tetanus is such a rare topic that I never thought about. Working under rusty cars from my teens onward? Not a problem, dogs aren’t peeing up into my car. Well, a friend mentioned he’d was updating his tetanus shot around 30 since he also works on rusty cars. “Wait, any rusty metal?” it was a dolly-zoom moment. Turns out, any source material that’s contaminated while puncturing skin can do it. It just happens to often be lost nails or broken glass. But I carried that belief for like 25 years.
In addition to the many other fine comments here, I will add that when you think someone is so stupid there is often something missing. You may not understand what information they are acting on or you might be interpreting the context according to different values than theirs. As an observer, not understanding someone else’s choice can feel exactly like “damn what a stupid choice.” I try as much as I can to take these as opportunities to dig further and use my imagination to figure out what they must be thinking. Occasionally I come up with something.
I appreciate your outlook and empathy. I think I’m smart. I know I ignore certain things and probably look stupid. But you are absolutely right that you can’t know what exact information they’re working with as the basis for decisions/statements/opinions. Being able to identify some base misconception can bring about resolution so fast. I still have sudden realizations that uproot some belief I had based on some bullshit my dad said decades ago. If you never had reason to question it, it doesn’t enter the critical reasoning part of your head.
Only example off the top of my head is he once said tetanus was, effectively, caused by dogs urinating on rusty metal. I was probably under 10, who am I to question? Well, tetanus is such a rare topic that I never thought about. Working under rusty cars from my teens onward? Not a problem, dogs aren’t peeing up into my car. Well, a friend mentioned he’d was updating his tetanus shot around 30 since he also works on rusty cars. “Wait, any rusty metal?” it was a dolly-zoom moment. Turns out, any source material that’s contaminated while puncturing skin can do it. It just happens to often be lost nails or broken glass. But I carried that belief for like 25 years.