Whats really funny is this thread making reference to intelligence and intelligent people in the third person.
The OP is missing a key element in all of this. The ability to MONETIZE "dumb things" That is where all the hard work comes in that most can't accomplish.
The threads original premise has always been a pet peeve of mine; that the culture is garbage that self perpetuates. Parents quit giving your kids money.
Sharing dumb things with the world, to me is the monetization part. It takes a lot of hard work to find and use the medium to share things with the world. It doesn't matter how talented you are in dancing, singing, or even painting, if you can't find the medium to share it with the world, it's impossible to get rich.
Its the money that pushes the talent into the spotlight. We end up in the situation of settling for whats offered. There is alot of great talent that "makes it" ( Steve Vai, but he's not even as popular as Jonas Bros. ) but theres alot more on the sidelines waiting for the three chord boy bands to fade away.
No doubt. We just settle for what's offered, because good entertainment is hard to find. We also value entertainment a lot more than any other things, which is reflected by the income level of various professionals in our society. We worked hard and at the end of the day, we just want some entertainment (even if it is a show re-run) to get our minds off reality. The funny thing is that we really don't demand a lot in term of our entertainment. We even settle for just some guy standing on a stage telling jokes, or for some show on discovery channel that take 30mins of narratives to bust a myth that can be busted within 5mins, or for some stupid reality tv show. We even tolerate paying full price for cable tv even tho it contain all those commercials. So if someone want to win financial freedom, win the crowd!
I think that the question here is what you find to be dumb. I have seen an invention on this show called the "Dragon's Den" where they give money to good inventors, and the guy who invented this retarded trinket called the "neckline slimmer" got laughed off the stage by a bunch of billionaire's. Well a month later I saw infomercials everywhere for this piece of crap, and apparently the guy is now a millionaire. Now how stupid would you have to be to invent something like this..... not to mention the stupididty involved in actually buying it... Is this guy stupid? I can only assume he is not that bright in terms of real world knowledge, but he is laughing his ass off all the way to the bank. It reminds me of the attacks on Sarah Palin, I know she is dumber than a post, and most people would agree with that assessment, but she is worth 10's of millions now taking advantage of her situation, so who is anyone else to argue intelligence with her? It is hard to argue against a persons intelligence who is able to create a living where they are able to do whatever they want while they are alive on planet earth. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSpUaTPKkCk
That is very true. Here is another example from D A I L Y M A I L: http://www.dail*****.co.uk/news/art...nt-laughed-turns-invention-huge-business.html I think when it comes to a product or service, it really depending on the target audience. The Swimfin for example is a dumb product to grown men, but it is great for children! The inventor is now making good money from it. Another thing I wanted to add: Those guys who goes on Dragon Den; some of them are just looking for exposure (the medium to expose their product to the world). Once they got this exposure, they just keep on milking the medium until it dry up. By then, they would have achieved success.
I need to come up with a stupid idea like "the pet rock" so I can fund my account. Gary Dahl is a genius!