Stupidity

From wikipedia:

"Stupidity is the quality or condition of lacking intelligence, as opposed to being merely ignorant or uneducated. This quality can be attributed to both an individual or a person's actions, words or beliefs. The term can thus also refer to poor use of judgement or insensitivity to nuances in a person who is otherwise intelligent."

Individual and Collective Stupidity

In psychology, this is known as deindividuation in crowds, and can lead to behaviours usually not displayed outside the specific social situation. The behaviours occur because individuals will conform to perceived social norms in order to 'fit in' or project an impression of self as "normal".


I think this was firmly displayed by a healthy part of my kids today.

I do not think being called stupid is a bad thing. It implies that they still possess intelligence, which may be shown to be throughly lacking AT THAT MOMENT. This is very different from being called an imbecile or an idiot for example, which implies that the lack of intelligence is genetic and permanent.

And just what is the point I am trying to make here?

The point is this. It is extremely stupid to jeopardise your own future simply because you cannot control your mouth. It is not an unreasonable request to remain silent for 5 mins or even 10 mins after a major exam so that the examiners can evaluate and count your scripts. After all, you have remained silent for an hour or two beforehand. Besides, anything you say after the scripts are in would not affect your grades. However, the things you do after the paper has ended can affect your grades. Let me explain:

The examiners are under a very tight deadline. The papers are supposed to be delivered to the exam centre within one hour after the end of paper. Late delivery may be rejected or declared void due to security, breach of technicality, and et al reasons.

Given the above reaons, does it make sense to talk so loudly so as to disrupt the examiner from their counting, delaying their departure time, thus jeopardising your grades?

I do believe the above points were highlighted and brought to the kids' attention, but did they bother to listen?

I do not know why I allowed this to bother me so much today. Perhaps it was due to the various discussions I had with the people around me over the past few weeks. Over the past years, discipline has became a four-lettered word among various members of the academia, the masses, parents, educationists, and even our children. Freedom of choice, individuality, and rights are the battlecry of our modern society now. But the costs? I think none of us may be able to afford the costs. Especially not our children.

My journey here is almost at an end. However, their journey is just beginning. I really do hope they would grow up to be contributors, and not parasites.