Ignorance and Stupidity
by MrFreeze 14 Replies latest jw experiences
-
-
Alwayshere
I think most are stuck in their ways never to change.
-
avishai
Stupidity=Willful ignorance.
-
BurnTheShips
Ignorance is not the problem. The illusion of false knowledge is. JWs labor under that illusion.
BTS
-
jgnat
I posted a rather lengthy thought today that included the evils of ignorance. Usually from those self-described as superior, failing to understand their neighbours. They failed because they weren't listening.
I did a bunch of reading this summer. Two books drove home the idea that the brain in all it's magnificence, is very capable of self deception. It sees what it expects to see. The two books are Iconoclast and The Language Instinct. Not only that, there are very powerful forces (fear) that prevent us from breaking from the crowd. The consequence of this, I think, is that even normally intelligent people can act like fools.
It's all well and good to talk about free will, but what if an accomplished manipulator (or practiced manipulative organization) has driven people to perform in ways they would have never done on their own? The key to jolt people out of their mental ruts, if these books are any indication, is to load people with new experiences, sights and sounds that they are not used to. In this flexible mental state, they are open to new insights, ideas.
Break the routine.
So to get back to your thought, I don't think there is that great a distinction between the ignorant and the stupid. The ignorant has dismissed valuable information. The stupid has forged ahead in spite of it.