To wonder why so many people are so inexplicably stupid?

[fanjofarrow]

I saw a comment by someone in another thread that said ''People don't think that a bank cashier is a banker, do they?'' and it has set me off on a Major League Rant (not aimed at the person who wrote that, but at people who DO think exactly that.)

My fella used to be a cashier at a bank for years before he got promoted. EVERY SINGLE DAY, without fail, he'd get moronic customers moaning at him for being a ''banker on a massive bonus''. He was a cashier on minimum wage, and even the bank managers didn't get the ridiculous sort of bonuses these imbeciles were on about.

I asked around and it seems that cashiers at various banks get this crap all the time.

What sort of moron really believes that a bank cashier is a millionaire banker? Why are so many people so dim?

...AND BREATHE!

Norway does have its own language, but did you know that it imported its current royal family from Denmark?

It was a feeble joke, Scone, as OP had just posted that her American pupils didn't know what language we speak in England! (Bit of a sore point with me today, as all 3 of the programs I installed have offered a list of language options with English [US] but no English [UK]!)

Well, we got ours from Germany.

No, I didn't know that, but many countries seem to have imported their royal families. So did we.

grin claig

With a great username like Philoslothy, there is no way you can be thick.

I am so thick I can't even do smileys

I have recently started teaching at an FE college. The lack of basic general knowledge amongst the teenagers was jaw dropping - like not know who David Cameron was, or that Australia is not in USA, or that George Bush was not the President of England. I am NOT joking.

To the PP who was disgusted at her colleagues squealing with delight at the thought of another I'm a Sleb series: I am, too! Despite my education and reasonable general knowledge, I LOVE the show

...or links :)

In the real world I am actually considered quite bright, for lots of reasons that I am too modest to post on here.

however my MN standards I am thick.

garlic I hadn't seen that post when I posted mine. It takes a while for this internet thing to makes it way across the ocean.

Sorry, that should have been "its." Don't want anyone to think I'm thick.

And make, not makes.

It is impossible to understand quite how common stupidity is unless you have a customer facing role.

yy TheCrackFox

You're not wrong CrackFox.

You wouldn't believe the amount of people who genuinely don't understand what 3for2 means.

I think it's not just getting things wrong but being so adamant that you're right.

Er, how can you not understand what 3for2 means?

Trust me Isla, it's a soul destroying conversation I have had eleventy billion times.

Going off at a bit of a tangent, many, many years ago there was a little girl with Down's Syndrome at our school. She had a statement entitling her to one to one support from a wonderful TA, who was allowed to read her the questions on the maths SATs test at KS1. The TA told me that one question was:

Pizzas cost £1.50 each. How much will two pizzas cost?

The little girl listened carefully and said 'Free'. This is SE London and her TA therefore made the reasonable assumption that she was actually saying 'Three', so that's what she helped her to write down. 'Well done', she said. 'How did you work that out?' 'Buy one get one free', said the little girl.

See no matter how shit general knowledge gets...maths is always worse...

Please do tell us what the conceptual difficulty with 3 for 2 is? it's about maths isn't it?

randall I feel your pain, I have been in retail many moons ago and my dh still is.
The stories he tells me
I don't know why I was surprised really!

Before anybody has a go at me, I'm absolutely not saying that this little girl was stupid! It was just an anecdote that came to mind because of the reference to people who don't understand 3 for the price of 2 offers.

I'm a social worker and I constantly get 'I pay your wages'.

I also get fed up with, as part if polite conversation, being told I'm a baby snatcher.

Yessssssss that's why I did my degree and got my qualification - because if a desire to take children away....

They don't even usually seem to get it when I say I work for ADULT SERVICES.

But that might be a whole different thread.

I genuinely don't know what it is they don't understand.
They just look at you with completely blank expressions.
It's almost unnerving because it's difficult to know quite how else to explain it.

Once you've said 'if you choose three items you get the cheapest one free' and they've just carried on standing there proffering their two items with a bewildered look, you're a bit stuck!

London - that is a classic, smart girl