Against Stupidity, Contending In Vain

STUPIDITY IS SO PERVASIVE, such a integral part of human behavior and history, that much has been written and spoken about it. Many of the most famous and respected people on the planet have weighed in with their individual takes on idiocy in thought, word, and deed. Among the better known, more salient observations: "Against stupidity, the Gods themselves contend in vain", attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher and writer Agathon. And two jewels by none other than Albert Einstein, both of which have been been silk screened onto T shirts, with good reason: "The diffrence between genius and stupiditiy is that genius is somewhat limited". and: "There are two things that are infinite; the universe, and human stupidity. and I'm not so sure about the universe". Einstein, famously intelligent, had absolutely no tolerance for human stupidity, which, as one might expect, he saw all around him. I'm quite sure that most reasonably intelligent people feel as though they have been unfairly victimized by the stupidity of others more than their fair share of times. I'm mo exception. Conversely,it seems likely that most of us have been guilty of our own fair share of stupidity in words and deeds, and have conveniently forgotten most of it, if for no other reaosn than for the sake of self esteem. Again, I'm no exception.The stupidity keeps a comin'. In advance of my fifty year high school class reunion, the reunion committee posted the class pictures of of every student in the enire class on Facebook. This gave a bunch of 68 year olds a chance to once again see their 17 year old selves, and have a smile. It was a hoot. When my picture came up, I pointed it out and said "That guy is a real stud". Good for a few laughs. One classmate tped in: "If you're such a stud, how come I've never heard of you"? Assuming that she was playing along, handing me a set up line, I replied: "Maybe because you're fortunate".(The best humor is self deprecating.) Then I said' "I'm sure there are many studs running around that you've never heard of". So far, so good. She then said: "I know Mark Smith (another classmate) and he has never mentioned you". I by this time was starting to become suspicious. I replied: "I've known Mark since third grade. We grew up playing baseball together, and we drank too much beer together in high school. Mark is a successful guy who likes to stay busy. He has a million things to talk about and thousands of people to mention besides me. I've never heard of you either". Next she said: "What I am trying to say is that if you are such a stud, why has Mark never bothered to mention you?" By now the red flag was fully raised, and I knew this conversation was over. I wrapped it up by saying: "You really know how to have a good time with a one line wise crack throw away joke, dont you..? Then I blocked her. I was done. I had had enough. All this, over a lame smart ass comment made by a 68 year old man about a 17 year old kid who no longer exists. Maybe I'm the stupid one. Maybe I should never have expected to be able to make a smart ass pseudo arrogant joking remark in front of two hundred people without somebody taking advantage of an opportunity to start trouble. Hell, why should I expect two hundred people to all say something like: "Wow! You sure were a stud, man, and you haven't changed a lick". How likely is it that you can assemble two hundred Americans, in person or on the internet, without there being a humorless dumb ass in the crowd? I can think of only two places where a gathering of two hundred Americans could even possibly be convened without at least one bonehead mixed in among them, and I don't mean Capitol Hill. I'm talking about a gathering of MENSA, and of the Union of Concerned Scientists. I would throw in a faculty meeting at Harvard, Princeton, M.I.T. or Yale, but, to be honest, I'm not so sure about any of them.