This would be a voluntary organization run by and for people who score below (but not too far below) the 50th percentile in standardized IQ tests.
The goal of the group would be self betterment and tapping into each others' collective wisdom in a judgment-free environment. (Scoring low on a standardized test indicates the lack of certain types of skills, but does not mean that you can't have good ideas, accumulated wisdom or the type of intelligence that can't be measured in such a test. Such skills can be improved on and the deficiencies covered -- I know several people who work extremely hard to achieve great things who would not generally be considered to have great innate intelligence)
A typical support meeting might go like:
"Hey guys, I got this really cool deal from a prince in Nigeria, what does everyone else think?"
"Whoa, I answered three of those and they never wired the millions they promised--maybe you should hold off"
OR
"I was thinking of stealing my neighbor's Rottweiler, can anyone help me?" etc.
etc.-- cowtamer, Jun 23 2009 Wikipedia: Densa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DensaOriginally fictitous low-IQ society conceived by John D. Coons. [jutta, Jun 24 2009] Yahoo Answers: Is there a club for stupid people like me? http://answers.yaho...090515145938AAqpjAdThey're calling the bluff, but no serious answers. [jutta, Jun 24 2009] idiocracy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IdiocracyLow IQ Society [jaksplat, Jun 24 2009] Wow, [Idischler]'s anno is true.. http://www.snopes.com/legal/desalvo.asp...although they were pranked by one of their own... [normzone, Jan 06 2015] Many don't need any help. One of ours in the US became President-- MisterQED, Jun 23 2009 And his son, too .....-- 8th of 7, Jun 23 2009 heh.-- blissmiss, Jun 23 2009 Sounds like there's a Democrat in the room ....-- 8th of 7, Jun 23 2009 I think we did this one. Densa, or Sensa, awhile back.-- RayfordSteele, Jun 23 2009 It could take the shape of a website... what shall we name it...? something funny, yet witty yet explanitory I say.-- knowtion, Jun 23 2009 Howabout www.foxnews.com?-- RayfordSteele, Jun 23 2009 Howabout "halfbrainery"-- vfrackis, Jun 23 2009 //One of ours in the US became President////And his son, too ...//
Don't leave out the Texas legislature, which recently passed a bill unanimously without reading it, then had to ask the governor to veto it.-- ldischler, Jun 24 2009 Durrrrr!!-- theleopard, Jun 24 2009 Another society member is the governor of South Carolina, who made a wrong turn on the Appalachian trail the other day and ended up in Argentina. He wants to be President too.-- ldischler, Jun 24 2009 vous êtes ici!-- 4whom, Jun 24 2009 Sounds like the mind leading the mind, to me-- Dub, Jun 24 2009 "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king........"
So, you have a large assembly of persons of below average intelligence. It would only take a single ruthless, unscrupulous individual to pretend to be dumb so as to gain admission, then use their superior reasoning (while still pretending to be stupid) to guide and manipulate the other members, thus being able to exploit them for financial gain. For exisitng models see also under "Cults", "Fringe religions", "Brainwashing", "Representative democracy", "Congress", and "European Union".
[Cowtamer], are you making an IPO ? We would like to buy in.-- 8th of 7, Jun 24 2009 <sv>I'm glad I avoided saying "the blonde leading the blonde!", that wouldn't be on</sv>-- Dub, Jun 24 2009 //(It would only take a single ruthless, unscrupulous) individual//sp: 'Aggressive Hegemonising Swarm or a single avatar thereof'.-- gnomethang, Jun 24 2009 you say that like its somehow a bad thing, [gt].-- 8th of 7, Jun 24 2009 Nope, I merely request that you define yourselves correctly in order to avoid confusion.-- gnomethang, Jun 24 2009 //And his son, too .....// I'm no fan, but the dad was no idiot. He was smart enough to gather a horde of key supporters and to surround the one son with enough people to get him in and then place the other son to steal the deal. His plan failed in that he really wanted the other son in and the first poisoned/nuked the water.
As for the idea, Gardeners multiple intelligences leads me to think that if you aren't excelling then find a new path. Grouping people who have not found their correct path benefits none of them(-). Better to have them travel on different paths till they find their match and meet with people who excel at that path and can help them excel.-- MisterQED, Jun 25 2009 My thought was that grouping people who excel at different things, but are lacking in one thing enough to label them "dumb" would be beneficial in that they would cover each others' weaknesses.
I mean Jane might learn from Becky (mother of 15) that she won't change her abusive boyfriend, and having a child with him won't help fix their relationship. Jack might learn from George (dying of hepatitis) that using soap to was his hands isn't some stupid thing that the Taco Bell manager makes him do, etc.
The point is that this would be a gathering of people who are smart enough to want to change/improve areas in their lives/knowledge/attitude/etc. which causes them to be labeled "dumb"-- cowtamer, Jun 25 2009 //So, you have a large assembly of persons of below average intelligence. It would only take a single ruthless, unscrupulous individual to pretend to be dumb so as to gain admission, then use their superior reasoning (while still pretending to be stupid) to guide and manipulate the other members, thus being able to exploit them for financial gain.//
I think you just described the last eight years in the U.S.-- nomocrow, Jun 25 2009 I don't get it.-- Gamma48, Jun 25 2009 A low IQ society, we already have it, its called Twitter. Oh and to 8th of 7, in the Kingdom of the Blind the one-eyed man usually has his eye poked out because everyone else is envious of him.-- Hirudinea, Jun 27 2009 How ? If they're blind, and he isn't, surely he can dodge ? Remember The Day Of The Triffids ?-- 8th of 7, Jun 28 2009 Easy 8th, they get the poor bugger at night!-- Hirudinea, Jul 04 2009 We already have this in the UK - it's called New Labour.-- xenzag, Jul 04 2009 // New Labour //
Actually, we prefer the Triffids ....-- 8th of 7, Jul 05 2009 If a triffid stood for election I might even register to vote for once. I might even go and vote as a follow up! What's it like?-- xenzag, Jul 05 2009 It's a brainless vegetable that wants to suck you blood and digest your bones for its own betterment. It's amoral, unfeeling and cares only for its own benefit and reproducing its own evil, exploitative kind.
Alternatively, you could vote for the Triffid.-- 8th of 7, Jul 05 2009 // collective //
Now you're talking ....-- 8th of 7, Jul 05 2009 random, halfbakery