They say the first step toward healing is admitting the truth. Well, world, let's admit it, we're a pretty dumb lot.
This isn't a new phenomenon. Dumbness has run rampant since the first Homo Erectus decided to stand upright, and his dad yelled at him to quit showing off. "Walk bent over, like a normal early ape creature, yu damn kid!"
In the ancient world prior to the advent of social media - you know, the 1990's - dumbness was alive and well. (Two words....boy bands). Now we have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Google Plus....sorry, my mistake, we don't actually have Google Plus.
The great thing about this era of social media, is that we are living out Mark Zuckerberg's dream of a 'more connected world.' Being connected will save us....from....I don't know what. I was just reading about the person who was so excited about getting a new American Express credit card, that they posted a photo of the card in their Facebook status, not realizing the dangers of posting your new credit card number on the internet for everyone to see....and copy.
Then there was the guy who complained that his Science Teacher was so dumb, he thought the sun was a star. When someone replied, "That's because it is," he argued forcefully that, "A sun's a sun. A star's a star. there's a difference. Duh."
Reading posts like these give some insight into our society. Don't get me wrong. We are not dumber than we used to be. Our dumbness is just more exposed for all to see.
For example, I was stunned to learn something about disgraced bicycle champion Lance Armstrong that I had not previously known. One thoughtful person posted, "We should all get off Lance Armstrong's back. Sure he did drugs, but he was still the first person to land on the moon." Fascinating! I did not know that!
The examples are too many and too mind boggling to list. ("Canadians are so stupid they think 'Titanic' was a real event, not jut a movie").
Mark Zuckerberg wants to save the third world, by floating wifi balloons around the world, so everyone can have access to Facebook.
Well, if Mark Zuckerberg believes it, it must be true, right?
I don't remember which of these are Facebook and which are Twiiter (Twitter, by the way, is far superior, because I love Twitter). It doesn't really matter. What matters is that someone took the time to ask publicly whether "The Hunger Games" is a true story....failing to account for the fact that it is set in the FUTURE.
There's the person who posted, in full wonderment, "Can you believe this Earth is now 2015 years old? Amazing!"
"Why did they invent other languages? What, like one wasn't enuogh?" This person would be facinated to learn that English is just about the LAST language to develop on the planet.
Or, the girl who asked why Chinese people don't have 'normal' names, like Kathy and Emily.
Or, they guy who was sure the world only has seven countries.
Or........
Forget it, we all get the point.
In closing I leave you with a modified age-old question to consider:
If a tree falls in the woods.....and no one is there to pose for a selfie in front of it.....did it actually fall? If no one posts it to Facebook, or at least Instagram, does it even matter? Or, if it's posted, but by someone with only 40 friends, and no one 'likes' it, did the tree even exist to begin with, or was it just too lame for existence?
-Peter Wick
September 15, 2015
