There is a bench scene in “Men in Black” where Tommy Lee Jones says to Will Smith, "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals, and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."

I’ve thought about this concept a long time as I travel the US. I remember in college, “You’re ignorant until you know…” That’s a big part of this journey I’m on. What don’t I know? Know what? I don’t claim to be smarter than anyone else, and for that reason, I like to dig a lot deeper when someone claims to “know” something.

As I’ve been driving around, some states, such as Illinois have mask mandates for all commercial spaces, while the state right next door, Missouri and Iowa, has no such thing. There is zero, proof that Illinois is any safer than Missouri or Iowa, or that Missouri and Iowa are more dangerous than Illinois. None! I looked! I took the time to try and find reliable data. I want to be as informed as possible.

Zealots may try and argue otherwise, but there is no such proof that masks are effective. None at all! At best, it’s inconclusive. The position people take on either side is grounded in hearsay, and opinion fueled by politicians and influential media.

According to an article in Smithsonian Magazine, 1,800 Studies Later, Scientists Conclude Homeopathy Doesn’t Work! Think about that for a moment. That translates into millions of people who believed something was true that wasn’t. There are stores everywhere that sell pills that claim to do just about everything and these stores make enough where they can afford to buy more ads.

Are masks just the latest? I don’t claim to know the answer. Yet, I was at a mall yesterday in Springfield, Missouri were about 10% were masked. Who’s right? Who’s really safe?

People are dumb because often in a group dynamic, the virtue signaler with the loudest voice with the most persuasive bullshit wins. This is in part what results in bad decisions. “Better safe than sorry.” Not really.

Helmets are required for all motorcycle riders in Washington state. Not so in many other states. It wasn’t until I started driving across the US that I realized how few states required helmets at all! Only nineteen states require all motorcycle riders to wear brain buckets. Some have no restrictions at all, while others require helmets if you’re under eighteen. I rode for the crash, but that’s just me.

Then there is the matter of speed limits. Even though entire states may have identical roads in places, some states post 80 MPH while others still post 55. There are city streets in Orange County that are posted 55 MPH! So who’s smart? Isn’t all of this supposed to be based on some science somewhere?

On a bigger scale, and I think about this a lot, how did the Nazis ever get into power? How did they persuade that many people to hate each other to that extent? How is that possible? How did SIX MILLION Jews die in concentration camps? Wasn’t that Nazi conventional wisdom? It was incremental persuasion. So where does that start and end?

The point I’m making is that as groups, we do incredibly dumb and often horrific things all out of pure stupidity that raises to the level of common good. Humans are passive creatures willing to have their opinions shaped through the weakest of arguments. This is why we elect such dumb politicians. I have trouble swallowing the claims made in every day TV ads. Yet, people can be persuaded to believe anything without individuals taking the time to dig deeper to find real answers. I’m terrified to be one of them.

Decisions become political even in a corporate environment. This is where people are dumb. Virtue signalers win. I know I’d rather wear a helmet when riding, but bikers argue they dramatically reduce situational awareness to avoid accidents. Even if proven to be safer, there is still public opinion. People are dumb, individuals are smart. What’s the right answer? Believe me, there will be a “study” somewhere, and that could be anything.

A partnership made up of dumb partners answering to shareholders who have no business knowledge will make the political decision every time, and not what’s best for the company. This is especially true when there is a weak CEO who has no guiding principals. Compound that with a weak board and you have a company that will go nowhere, in spite of claims, and there will be a lot of them. Everything will be for short term optics rather than long term gains. Oh, they will say all the right stuff, but people are dumb. History will either prove me right or wrong.

I guess that’s the point of writing this. I might be the one who’s dumb about a lot of things and it will take time and more knowledge to know for sure. Tommy Lee Jones said it right and my objective is to keep an open mind to the idea that what I thought was fact, may be like so many other things, a big mistake.