Why are there "stupid" choices? Is not everything a learning experience?

Question

If all life is provided to us as a "learning" experience regardless as to whether you believe in religion/spirituality or evolution (evolution being a process of species-wide growth dependent upon environment and collective choices over time) then why do we, as society, condemn some of our choices as "stupid" simply for the fact that the result seems detrimental to either that individual specifically or the species in itself?

Is the only "stupid" question the unasked one? The only "stupid" experience the inexperienced? Why condemn yourself to the lack of experience because you are afraid that another may perceive it as "stupid?"

Answer 1

Stupid decisions are those made without checking the available information, or doing something out of envy, jealousy, spite, anger, greed.

Answer 2

i do believe that life is a learning experience, and i always try my best to learn from all of my own experiences, and other's experiences that i have witnessed.

however, from what i have observed, A LOT of people are incapable of learning from their own mistakes/experiences and others'. it's very sad, and i find that it is such a large population who can not. i think that it takes a lot to learn from your experiences because you have to be able to sit back and evaluate what had happened and what you had done. a lot of times it takes admitting faults, and people don't like doing that. and also, it takes accepting what happened, and a lot of people don't do that either.

if people learned from history, so many things that are happening now would not be happening. such as war. have we not learned what damage war can do from wars in the past? if we had learned from our past mistakes, we would be attempting to achieve peace in a different means...

it takes a real person to learn from the past, or to at least TRY to learn!

a stupid choice is only stupid if you have repeatedly made the same choice only to find the same result. for example, if you're walking down the street, and you come to a fork in the road, you decide to go down one road and find it is a dead-end. the next day, you're walking down the street again, you find yourself at that same fork, yet you make the same decision and find yourself at a dead end once again.. now that's just stupid. you should have learned from the previous day this was a dead-end. get what i'm saying?

sorry for my extensive response, but i have one more example: when i graduated, instead of getting a job right away, i decided to work for 2 months, save all that money, and go travel for 2 months. my best friend thought it was the stupidest idea in the world because she decided to just get a job and purchase a house. however, i had the greatest time in my life and i had a wonderful experience. SHE thought it was stupid, but i thought going straight to work after graduating was stupid. i had no problem finding a job afterwards, nor making up for the money i spent. so sometimes what someone deems as "stupid" could also just be an opinion. and if you are thinking of doing something that someone else thinks is stupid, it's ok to reconsider what you are doing, however ensure that you are making the choice YOU want.

Answer 3

Yes, to answer ur 2nd Q.

i think the choices you could possibly be referring to are the ones that ..commonly "come down " from "high",as it were( and as it is).

In school and in college-as in the workplace and in the university or kindergarten-we are constantly shown such choices.

Just take one example that may be of interest(and one which may agree in principle with your Q);In the media we are now constantly given a big choice,in the environmental world,between "taking sides" on one of two viewpoints.That of neglecting or trashing the findings of scientists,who maintain that continued burning of fossil fuels is leading to "global warming".

Or accepting that manmade global warming is happening,that the majority of scientists are correct,and therefore the massive use-and-abuse of fossil fuel burning Must be stopped or seriously diminished.

But i believe that we will NEVER get 100% agreement,with the fossil-fuel-Burners-the multiple vehicle users,even those countries and corporations/clients that knock-down new,good buildings,to build possible better looking ones(that as well as bring-in more profit,bring in prestige and further importance for those same corporations/ect).

Only last night on the nat geographic tv channel,did that show state the probable and likely scenario,or desperate state,we would be in come the impending world temperature rise of up to 6 degrees.

Im not disputing any of this;what i am saying is that there is another 3rd choice,where one accepts that dreadful fossil fuel burning is happening;And FOR IT TO FALL,AND FOR MEANINGFUL AND EFFECTIVE ACTION TO TAKE PLACE(Aside from all our courageous individual actions)we must look-to and realise that a global-type-agreement and therefore action,must be looked for,worked for,and especially that leaders must be held accountable for their responces,to this problem,to other world AND even local leaders.

i admit that a time comes when these leaders must act;and such action could come before they all agree(as possibly now).But that doesnt nullify the fact that there is a 3rd choice in this matter,another choice which can be furthered,researched and refined,whilst anyone can do what they can to alleviate their OWN (negative)impact-that is their own use-and-burning-of-fossil-fuels,which as most of us now realise,is not only wasteful and wrong,but wasteful AND devisive,wasteful and criticisable in the light of the choises before us.

Answer 4

When we fail to learn from our own mistakes or even from the mistakes of others, we make poor choices. For instance, would it not be stupid to have unprotected s*x with an AIDS patient?

Of course, if one did do this, they would weed themselves out. Stupid is a word defined to mean:

1 a: slow of mind : obtuse b: given to unintelligent decisions or acts : acting in an unintelligent or careless manner c: lacking intelligence or reason : brutish

2: dulled in feeling or sensation : torpid <still stupid from the sedative>

3: marked by or resulting from unreasoned thinking or acting : senseless <a stupid decision>

4 a: lacking interest or point <a stupid event> b: vexatious, exasperating <the stupid car won't start>

I think what you are referring to is definition number 3- and basically it defines a stupid decision as one we have not thought through reasonably.

Answer 5

Being human means to experience all things in life. Stupidity is just one of those things many of us go through. I wouldn't think I'm always stupid just becuase I did something stupid once.