Years ago, a TV show called Get Smart, featured a secret agent named Maxwell Smart, who used his shoe to make telephone calls. He was a Smart person using a dumb phone.
Today, it may be the opposite. We now have smart phones, smart houses, smart cars and even smart water.
But on any given day, I fear we have fewer and fewer smart people.
If we’re so smart, why do we act so dumb?
We are the most advanced and educated society in the history of the world, yet, human beings continue to act like they don’t have brains.
For example, there’s a law against texting while driving in most places, yet many drivers tempt fate. Each year, thousands of automobile drivers fall asleep at the wheel because they weren’t smart enough to pull off the road.
Research shows it’s a pretty good idea to finish college, yet only about 25% of us do.
Being smart is not just about being “book smart.” Sometimes the application is simply common sense.
The number one killer in our society is heart disease, a condition that is largely preventable by controlling your weight and getting a moderate amount of exercise.
Colon cancer is a preventable disease that is 90% curable when detected early, yet thousands die from it every year.
We seem to take major life decisions seriously, but around 50% of first marriages end in divorce, according to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri. The divorce rate is even higher for second marriages.
Even smart people have bad judgement
Dan Ariely writes about this phenomenon in his terrific book, Predictably Irrational. He makes the point that we sometimes act stupid because we are human. Bad judgment, emotions, trends, and even misinformation can make us seem stupid. Been there, Homer Simpson’d that.
Apparently, being smart won’t keep us from occasionally acting dumb. Text that into your smart phone.
What do you think? If people basically smart why do we act so dumb?
Yep, multi-tasking is a misnomer.
