Thinking | Reflection
The Golden Age of Stupidity has …
… not ended
I am not intelligent. I hope I am not stupid.
I love speaking to people. Individuals come with their own set of beliefs. Some of those have been crystallized in their minds as part of knowledge acquisition. A small fraction of those beliefs are backed by foundations as strong as sand.
These are the conversations that provoke laughter, not because I am cynical. They make me laugh because they expose me to a world beyond my imagination.
For one, I have people around me who believe that lightning is a consequence of higher entities getting angry. We have sinned, and therefore we will be punished.
Hmm.
I find that interesting because getting punished for anger provocation is two separate matters. By that, I mean: -
- Provoking anger.
- Having the power to penalize others.
I believe in God and higher entities. There is an ethical ethos to our existence in this world. God is there to point us toward enlightenment, so we can up the ante and be a better person.
That is wildly different from having the ability to punish those who have sinned.
I see why there is a need to incorporate that piece into the studies related to religion. When we are young, we need to understand life lessons. We appreciate the consequences follow what we do.
So, if we do bad things, we get punished.
It steers us in the right direction.
However, as we mature, we ought to grow out of human-fabricated divine right-to-punish. Should we not pay more attention to Physics class, you know, where the lecturer is impacting the knowledge of electromagnetism?
I love to think that we should.
Therein lies our ability for presumption.
Everyone believes we should. In reality, we do not.
The Golden Age of Stupidity has not ended. In fact, we are heading into the Platinum Age!
That is just one example.
We often confuse leadership with Zombie-like behavior too.
Many senior leaders today are influenced by the ideals of transparency and supporting their team members. They somehow believe that their team members need more exposure for them to shine.
I support that wholeheartedly too.
But we cannot assume that every individual in our team is Type-A, am I right?
The passive ones seek corporate growth in a moderate fashion. They do not want to attend networking sessions. They do not hanker after opportunities to make presentations to the C-Suite. They are not interested in representing the company as a panel judge in an industry event.
They want to do their work. They want to get their work done. They want recognition that their work is brilliant and contributes to the advancement of the team. That. Is. It. Period.
There is no need to complicate things!
When we try to be intelligent and impose best practices on every individual in the team, we extrapolate our stupidity into our well-intentions.
It creates a triple whammy.
First, we do it because we want the best for everyone in the team. Then, it backfires. And, we get hated for being stupid.
I am not too sure if this is the right way ahead. Maybe it pays to speak to individuals and figure out what they want. We have different wants and asks wrapped into a generic umbrella term known as career advancement.
It is no wonder we get confused. I am not surprised that confusion breeds stupidity too.
So, how do we punctuate our innate ability to protract stupidity?
I have a few suggestions.
For one, listen to others more. Hear what they say, ask them if that is what they mean, further clarify if what they say can hold water. All of us want career advancement, yet not all of us want a promotion. There will be those who are happy with a pay increment, and that is it.
So listen, clarify, seek specificity.
Next, we have to challenge our assumptions. By that, I refer to the way we view this world. When we think others are stupid and why we are unbelievably intelligent, we need to question just how stupid we might be.
Yes. We have to find out whether we are wrong and prove that we are right. Being right about something requires proof. The entire process of walking through our thought processes and challenging them as they extend their argument is the best way to ensure we are right.
Why are we spending time challenging ourselves?
Well, the answer is simple.
We will be wrong by default. That is because we begin with ignorance. We have to engage in the rigor of thinking, refine our thought processes, and test them with life experience before knowing we are right.
Becoming right is a journey. It is not a right.
Until a vast majority of us are willing to challenge ourselves daily, I presume the Golden Age of Stupidity will continue to bask in its finest glory.
Let us enjoy our party, fellows!
Aldric
About the Author:
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure.
Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.
