Today I had an email from a client asking me about a software choice.  Obviously not a problem, it’s the kind of question I answer all the time.  What set this particular email apart, however, was the fact that I had answered this exact question three times previously for this same client.  In email.  There’s a written record.  I don’t mind answering questions but I’m starting to feel like a fucking parrot.  And I honestly cannot fathom why this individual couldn’t just search their email for the answer, instead of querying my brain.  Again.

This is only the tip of the iceberg, though.  A small and mostly insignificant example of one of the most profound and infuriating of humanity’s flaws.  Let’s take a quick overview of the myriad presentations of this mental disease:

• Refusing to learn from experts.  You can see this everywhere from politics at the highest echelon to (probably) your own profession.  You’d think public policy would be based on the informed opinions and proven facts supplied by relevant experts, wouldn’t you?  But no.  On everything from encryption to global fucking warming, the lawmakers and their supporters choose to completely disregard the experts in favor of…their gut feeling?  What seems most convenient at the moment?  And, of course, there’s nothing more delightful than having someone hire you for your expertise, and then having them argue with you about your field of expertise.  If only we could charge twice as much as compensation for mental anguish due to forced interaction with stupidity.
• Refusing to learn from clear evidence.  This is obviously related to the previous item, but I feel it deserves its own special callout.  This covers everything from why we should recycle (“guess what…plastic doesn’t disintegrate”) to why you shouldn’t plug in the Christmas tree with wet hands.  Again.
• Refusing to learn from mistakes.  Seriously, how many times do you need to get electrocuted by that fucking tree?
• Refusing to learn from others’ mistakes.  I know this is an advanced technique, but it seems worth mentioning.  You don’t actually have to make all the mistakes yourself.  You can watch and listen to others and then avoid the mistakes they have made.  Crazy, I know.  But worth thinking about.

And for bonus points…

• Priding oneself on one’s ignorance.  Because that’s actually a thing.

C’mon human beings.  Get your shit together and stop dragging us all down with your broken fucking brain.  It’s there for a reason; maybe you should try using it.

Tags: misanthropic, people, stupid