Twelve year olds are more advanced, make it 8.
Unified Theory of American Reality
Submitted 3 weeks ago by UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world to [deleted]
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/b0423e7c-8467-49de-9b3d-679b48d839f6.jpeg
Comments
cronenthal@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 3 weeks ago
Sounds like something a president on a list would say.
SlacksMcTavish@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
He does keep drawing the line at 12…
salacious_coaster@infosec.pub 3 weeks ago
This is very accurate. In my twenties, I worked on myself relentlessly to try to become “grown up”. Eventually I looked around and realized that hardly anyone else was doing that, and people twice my age were still acting like children. Then they elected a man-boy King in their image.
yakko@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
I too passed the self-imposed ritual. It has not made me happy, but it helped me understand why I wasn’t.
SidewaysHighways@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
damn. well said
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 3 weeks ago
For me when I realized I was more grown up than the adults around me, I realized I could relax a bit and not hold myself to such an unsustainable standard. On the other hand I still have lofty goals for myself that I still strive to reach so I’ll pick up a ton of cool experiences along the way and maybe I’ll achieve those pipedreams or maybe I won’t but either way it beats just stagnating and aging in place
dbtng@eviltoast.org 3 weeks ago
Try drugs.
ivanafterall@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The drugs just made me even more aware I’m surrounded by crazy children. Maybe I did the wrong drugs.
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Yep.
Trump is the manifestation of America’s id, or shadow.
He is the pampered, racist, proudly anti-intellectual, rapist, narcissist, serial conman, lawless fucking thug that every idiot in America identifies with, idolizes, worships, assumes is correct, gives every single benefit of every former doubt to.
All because a lot of Americans want to be able to shoot someone on 5th avenue and get away with it, grab em by the pussy and be praised for it.
Ultimately, imo, he is a symptom of problems that those in power during previous years and decades knowingly allowed to fester…
… but goddamn, the realization or actualization of the collective unconsciousness of angry and obstinate fucking morons is truly awful to behold.
cronenthal@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
Now that I think about it, the situation in the US really does play out like an unconscionable large version of Lord of the Flies.
DarkFuture@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This is pretty spot on.
Ralph was just trying to help organize and make everyone’s lives better. He was ignored and his life was threatened.
Simon, the insightful one, was trying to get people to see reason to quell their mania. He was murdered.
Piggy, the intelligent and compassionate one, was murdered.
erin@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Intelligent, compassionate, and a vessel for the author’s racist worldview.
Don’t mind me. I hate that book, and I hate that it’s taught in every school as if it has anything important to say. We’ve run the Lord of the Flies experiment, both accidentally and very intentionally. Every time, we’ve demonstrated that humans are better than that, and the author’s beliefs about human nature were both very incorrect and very racist.
I still resent being forced to debate my classmates about whether human nature was intrinsically “good” or “evil,” directly after reading that book, even though it was 25 years ago. I was the lone voice on the side of “good,” for lack of a “good and evil are subjective terms, but nonetheless humans are empathetic and this book is horseshit” team. I got dogpiled by 20 some other students for about 45 minutes. Fuck you Ms. Brown, and fuck you William Golding. That book has nothing important to say other than exposing its author’s racist insecurities.
halvar@lemy.lol 3 weeks ago
Well that’s basically the premise of populism. Your policy is doing whatever most of your audience would first think of doing (with no subtlety at all so as not to seem to smart or distant to them) then you just ignore the consequences when they come to bite you in the ass and most people won’t think all those bad things are a result of your own stupid policy, because they believe it was perfectly logical and flawless to begin with.
HasturInYellow@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Can we try populism+? We just get one guy, like a really smart good dude. Like a heavenly super person. We get them to look at all the ideas we have for stuff and tell us if there will be any consequences. If he says it’s good, we do it. If it turns out bad, we kill him and try again.
We would need a name for this person. Something powerful right? Maybe “EMPEROR”
FlyingCircus@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Unfortunately, nowadays populism is used almost exclusively about progressive ideas that are popular as a way to dismiss them because they’re not profitable or some shit.
OboTheHobo@ttrpg.network 3 weeks ago
Yep, even though trump is maybe the most populist president the country has seen
someguy3@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
True. When I was young I thought why don’t we use the military domestically. Yeah it doesn’t work.
deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 3 weeks ago
It actually works really well, if your goal is fascism.
EvilFonzy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This lines up with what I’ve been shouting into the void whenever I read a news article. “Where are the fucking adults?!”
418_im_a_teapot@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
You just made me remember that book that came out in his first term reassuring everyone that there were “adults in the room” protecting us from certain doom.
What a crock of shit that turned out to be.
Tower@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Eh, I think that his 2nd term kind of helps validate that view of his 1st. Because he was a political newbie, he allowed those around him to help make staffing decisions, so you got mostly run of the mill Republicans. Terrible, certainly, but not sycophants. That’s all out the window this time. Key positions are filled based solely on either fealty to the mad king or ✨campaign contributions✨ (bribes). Anyone who dares speak out gets the axe, and at least for now it’s a metaphorical one.
tetris11@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
when you reach the milestone of adulthood and take a peek behind the veil of responsibility…
… maybe Larry Niven was right in Ringworld, humanity’s only defining trait is not our intelligence, but our luck.
wowwoweowza@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
When I was 12 I wanted to send the worst criminals to live in prisons in Somalia so that Somolies could have jobs and we would never have to see criminals…
And now there is a literal version of that idea from a 12 year old
gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
I mean i just want to note for a second that the aging retardant properties of humanity are one of the great miracles that puts us above other species.
Most other mammal species, including dogs, cats, camels, zebras, horses, cattle, sheep, whatever farm animal/pet you can think of typically lives no longer than 20 years, while for humans it’s routinely 80 years, about 4x as long.
That, it turns out, is one of humanity’s great strengths. We age significantly slower, and that includes a significantly longer childhood. Most feral animals grow up and reach puberty within 1-3 years, while for humans it takes at least 12 years (even longer if you wait to be socially accepted as an “adult”). This gives us more time to play, figure things out, learn, and develop. It is for this reason that we’re able to pull off more amazing things than other species, because our long lifes warrant that getting a long, proper education is worth it. Because if we only lived for 20 years, it would hardly be worth it to study till you’re 25 years old.
So, aging slower, and staying childish for longer, is actually one of humanity’s great strengths. It is unfortunate, i believe, that we’re trying to remove that human specialty in these days and trying to make people grow up faster.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
that puts us above other species.
What, why? Axolotls can regrow limbs and Turritopsis dohrnii is biologically immortal. Try that as a mere human.
And btw, please stop with that “we are above animals” thinking. That’s what makes us think the world is ours alone and leads to destruction and shrinking bio diversity.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
With that reasoning, turtles, parrots, should be put above humans?
dbtng@eviltoast.org 3 weeks ago
Look, that all sounds very nice for civilized people. But childhood itself is a creation of civilization. Childhood didn’t exist until we had the leisure to allow it. And now civilization has progressed to the point where children don’t really ever have to grow up or assume care of themselves and others. Ya see em sleeping in tents on the corner. Still 12. No bills, no cares. Can you spare a dollar?
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
childhood is something all complex animals have, playing is how we learn to do things needed to survive.
hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
I think you’re underestimating 12-year olds here.
lightnsfw@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
The group I play D&D with has three 12-year olds in it and I would put any of those kids in charge of this country over any of the current administration and those kids are morons.
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
i mean, i would put the liz truss cabbage in charge of the american government at this point
WanakaTree@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Yeah I was thinking this sound alike my 4 year old
TheObviousSolution@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Although Hanlon’s razor says “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”, I’d argue never misjudge malicious intent for stupidity. The first makes you just look a bit dumb, the second makes you a victim.
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
i’m introducing Marx’ Flaming Laser Sickle, which says that i don’t give a fuck about the underlying cause if the effect is fascism.
petrol_sniff_king@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
I think there does come a point where stupidity and malice are basically the same thing.
tomkatt@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
After a certain tipping point, stupidity en masse becomes indistinguishable from malice. The result is more important than the intent.
BogeyTheSwear@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
What if the stupidity is caused by decades of malicious downgrading of the education system?
dbtng@eviltoast.org 2 weeks ago
then ur fukt. and so am i.
PlantDadManGuy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Reddit’s razor? Harambe’s razor?
DarkFuture@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It’s a nation filled to the brim with children trapped in adult bodies.
This is not an opinion because I’m perpetually online. I go outside and they’re there too. Literally everywhere.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 3 weeks ago
It’s actually worse outside, which is why I am terminally online.
KelvarCherry@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
I was a shut-in before the 2024 Election. I figured social spaces there were somewhat immature because the mature people would have jobs and real life involvement. Then I started going outside, and I lost all hope. I’m too stupid for people to be this dumb. (Though I’ll admit, social media, algorithmic content, and the AI products probably made people dumber.)
Randelung@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The worst part is: yes! Tons of studies come to that conclusion. Be it reading comprehension, lead poisoning, or the active dismantling of the US education system for the last eight decades, it’s all part of the same picture. But what can you do about it if the group of preteens is self governing and won’t see the problem?
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 3 weeks ago
Already a term for it… maybe they weren’t aware of it on account of being twelve.
theconversation.com/the-infantilization-of-wester…
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infantilization
Smacks of condescension, elitism, and historical naivety while being a short step away from bemoaning degenerated modernity to me.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Smacks of condescension, elitism, and historical naivety
Sorry, socially engineered infantilization is just an explanation, not a justification.
gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
This reads a lot to me like Sokrates’ speech that the children are all spoiled today. I.e. it has always been that way but people continuously assume that they have it especially bad in that regard.
baggachipz@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Twelve year-old attitude, 2 year-old selfishness.
5parky@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This concept could be an entire Lemmy community.
Krauerking@lemy.lol 2 weeks ago
c/YeahButYoure12
dbtng@eviltoast.org 2 weeks ago
um … build it. i will join.
BilSabab@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Makes too much sense. Is this guy CIA?
MithranArkanere@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I think 12 may be too high. Most kids I’ve knew who acted like that were like 6.
BarrelAgedBoredom@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
We already have a word for that phenomena, it’s called fascism
SektorC@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
crypt0cler1c@infosec.pub 3 weeks ago
This L take is something a 12yo would come up with…
cmhe@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I think humanity is really slowly being replaced by LLMs.
Presentation and simple, but stupid and wrong ideas, are preferred over actually researching and understanding situations, isolating the underlying issues and working on ways to resolve or at least lessen them.
Just like LLMs, fewer and fewer people seems to care about a deeper understanding, and more about if the stream of words look ‘good’.
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
The average American is as literate as a 5th to 6th grader.
thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/2024-2025-litera…
5th to 6th graders are 10 to 12 years old, normally.
So uh… yep, mhm, the average American is about as stupid as a 12 year old, that’s a bit on the optimistic side though.
Dude’s theory isn’t really wrong, Americans are dumb and immature as fuck, and yes the statistics exist to back that up.
ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Honestly it terrifies me when I think about this.
I’m too stupid to be smarter than this many people.
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Sadly, nope, if you can read at a high school level, there’s roughly a 75% chance you are smarter than any rando you meet.
I am starting to notice this in the slop youtube throws at me that I am sometimes dumb enough to click on.
Somebody reading some article to give commentary on it, and you can just tell they are reading one word at a time, misunderstanding what 15% of them mean, have to actually stop on 5% of the words because those ones they’ve never read before, and then they start complaining that the author must have just been using a thesaurus… because a few of the vocab words in the article are 8th grade or above.
… I picked up reading quickly, so quickly that when I was in 2nd grade, I was assigned to go out into the hall when I was done with my classwork (I always finished rapidly) and then go help a 4th or 5th grader who was behind in reading skills, go sit with them and have them or me read aloud, help them with words they didn’t know, etc.
Everyday, even on the net, I encounter more people who… are beyond graduating high school age, who barely read better than 5th graders with dyslexia.
dbtng@eviltoast.org 3 weeks ago
Ya, that struck me as real truth. It’s a nice summary, gets quickly to the root of the problem. If you are facing yet another moron, this elucidates what’s going. People do not aspire to mature beyond 5th grade anymore. Adjust your strategies accordingly.
anomnom@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I honestly would take a fifth grader over most seventh graders most of the time.
Middle school was just a series of brutal fights where I grew up. Physically for the boys and psychology for the girls.
I’m just saying we should be careful what we wish for, though we really do need much better reading programs in schools.
Captainautism@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
As an American, this is accurate. I had a conversation with my wife not too long ago about how until I met her, I felt like I was always surrounded by idiots. I don’t mean that in a hyperbolic way. I did not know one person who continued any sort of self education in adulthood. Once they were out of school, that was it. It blew my mind. Life should be a daily striving to learn more. They seriously would not pick up a book, or research any topic outside of headlines.
Hackworth@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Curiosity is as important as raw intelligence, and curiosity can be encouraged. Mostly it’s discouraged.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
So US was a 3rd-world country all along?
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
3rd world country with a knock off gucci belt.
Middle eastern terrorism?
Nah, we got ya’ll qaeda right here at home, proud boys all joined ICE, gonna be 4th of July every damn day for the forseeable future.
Jumpingspiderman@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
12 year olds are on average a lot smarter than your usual GOP congresscritter. In fact howler monkeys are smarter than your average GOP congresscritter.