Presidential approval ratings — let's draw some conclusions about Homo sapiens

09 November 2021

Sometimes, I amuse myself by being gloomy about Homo sapiens' future

President Biden's fall to a 38 percent approval rating gave me an excuse to do this.

I recalled that President Trump had fallen as low as 34-35 percent.

Contemplate obvious conclusions

First, let's assume that the 38 percent of folks who approve of Biden are not among the 35 percent who approved of Trump.

Let's add those two competing groups together.

Seventy-three percent, total. When measured at the lowest approval points, so far, in both presidencies.

That means that 73 percent of Americans are . . .

. . . (a) incorrigibly (b) hardcore (c) dumb as shit.

That's because anyone who thinks that either of those two very obviously psychically twisted, inept, presidential morons — literally speaking — is good for the country — just has to be an idiot.

My species-existential gloom was supported . . .

. . . (the next day) by Stephen Johnson, who essentially and coincidentally said the same thing:

Ultimately . . . it doesn’t matter where anyone falls on the “smartness spectrum” because even the smartest person is stupid most of the time.

According to [psychologist Daniel] Kahneman, no matter how “smart” we are, our day-to-day mode of thinking involves an interaction between these two modes of thought, with Mode 2 lightly monitoring the unformed input of Mode 1 as we navigate the world, rarely piping up to offer input. Think of how thoughtlessly you can drive a car, for instance.

Most of time, this works out fine. We take our assumptions, impressions, and biases and base our decisions and opinions upon them with no static.

Even something that challenges our basic assumptions can usually be explained away with some small effort from Mode 2 mind.

It’s easy to think that people are dumb and lazy when you’re in line at the Costco . . . but the trick is realizing that everyone is just as flawed.

[R]ecent research suggests that “cognitive sophistication” more often leads to people having a larger bias blindspot—being “smarter” seems to makes it harder to understand [one's] biases compared to seeing them in others.

No one knows what they’re doing, after all, and they’re probably just trying to make things easier for themselves in the short term.

You shouldn’t, however, mention any of this to loved ones.

Just pretend it all makes sense. It’s how we get along.

Take me, as an example

When I was young, I had an exceptionally high IQ. Nevertheless, I have been just about the dumbest person I've ever met.

As a result of this too-often-manifested quality — and when talking to impressionable infants, children and patient adults — I hold myself out as an outstanding example of how not to be societally successful.

Flaws, probably visible from almost the beginning — and certainly magnified by unfortunate childhood circumstances — did me in. Exactly as Stephen Johnson and Daniel Kahneman implicitly assert that they do in most of us.

The moral? — With all this in mind . . .

Do you think that an alleged democracy — that is almost entirely comprised of provable dumbshits — can survive?

From our shared and unending demonstration of Stupidity Run Wild, we can see why the Sociopathic Nasties in our midst succeed. And then go on to dominate the Limitless Herd of easily manipulated and fleeced folks to which most of us belong.

Sapiens is therefore, most probably, doomed.

Enjoying our Ride to Perdition may be the key to personal happiness.

And thus, I justify my dark moods.

See what quantifiable smarts can get'ch'ya?

There is, arguably, a place for wry — Buddhist-i-cally perceived — humor in our condition.

PeteFree.com

Presidential approval ratings — let's draw some conclusions about Homo sapiens