Dumbing Things Down Is Never A Solid Long-Term Plan

Thoughts on avoiding every race to the bottom we come across

a scattered crowd are caught in a maelstrom that swallows them and spits them out into an ordinary life scenario, surrealist photography — by DALL·E

YouTube Wisdom

A friend alerted me to this statement in the comment section of a YouTube video: ‘when you make something idiot-proof, God will make a better idiot’. Theological debates aside, I had to chuckle at the sharp wisdom. Who hasn’t been surprised at the endless downward spiral of human stupidity? Indeed, it is as though we couldn’t help but join whatever race to the bottom we come across. ‘Nobody would be so thick as to…’ is the preamble to any subsequent record low. Why is that? Are fools born or made?

Primary School

Probably, primary school is where we witnessed the most substantial differences between individuals of a similar economic background. I went to a state school; all our families were working class. While some kids could read fast and change the tone according to the passage, others could hardly put three syllables together. While some of us knew the names of most European countries and their capitals, others had no idea where Australia would roughly sit on the world map. Naturally, the reason for this tremendous disparity was at home. My parents and grandparents would always make an effort to deem knowledge essential, and they wouldn’t mind spending time with…