603: Idiocracy - Revision history

130.76.187.33: /* Trivia */ movie

2025-10-03T18:38:16Z

‎Trivia: movie

FaviFake: /* Trivia */

2025-07-28T19:53:08Z

‎Trivia

76.183.232.121 at 17:44, 28 July 2025

2025-07-28T17:44:34Z

Tromag at 19:54, 7 November 2024

2024-11-07T19:54:56Z

172.70.90.72: /* Explanation / I'm not entirely sure the prior change read the layers of satire/parody properly. How does Randall personally* believe what was said?

2023-12-02T16:34:33Z

‎Explanation: I'm not entirely sure the prior change read the layers of satire/parody properly. How does Randall *personally* believe what was said?

172.69.194.148: Edited the first paragraph to point out that Randall had misunderstood what the film was saying, as per Pennpenn's comment, which I agree with about it more accurately representing what the film actually said.

2023-12-02T12:48:26Z

Edited the first paragraph to point out that Randall had misunderstood what the film was saying, as per Pennpenn's comment, which I agree with about it more accurately representing what the film actually said.

ConscriptGuide: Should it be "Zoom in on"?

2023-08-09T18:12:33Z

Should it be "Zoom in on"?

Theusaf: Reverted edits by Donald Trump (talk) to last revision by CRLF

2022-05-26T19:57:58Z

Reverted edits by Donald Trump (talk) to last revision by CRLF

Show changes

Donald Trump: Reverted edit by anti-crap user

2022-05-26T19:04:27Z

Reverted edit by anti-crap user

Show changes

CRLF: Reverted vandalism with User:CRLF/OneClickUndo.js

2022-05-26T17:51:23Z

Reverted vandalism with User:CRLF/OneClickUndo.js

Show changes

@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 [[Category:Characters with hats]]
 [[Category:Biology]]
-[[Category:Fiction]]
+[[Category:Movies]]
 [[Category:Religion]]
 [[Category:Climate change]]

@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 ==Trivia==
-*It should be noted that Safari Hat was at first thought to be a version of White Hat, who had the exact opposite personality depicted here. But since White Hat had already appeared three times before this comic, and as Safari hat has never been seen since (except in [[1000: 1000 Comics]]), there is no reason to mix these two characters.
+Safari Hat was at first thought to be a version of White Hat, who had the exact opposite personality, depicted here. But since White Hat had already appeared three times before this comic, and as Safari hat has never been seen since (except in [[1000: 1000 Comics]]), there is no reason to mix these two characters.
 {{comic discussion}}

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 Safari Hat's initial claim was clearly designed to include only false statements that might sound true to someone who wanted to believe them: there's always been a trend for poorer and less educated to have more children, it wasn't different in the past (and there's some evidence that this correlation is becoming less reliable with changes in culture, opportunities for women, and the availability of birth control). The claim that IQs and education are decreasing is also false: educational attainment has been rising for decades in all developed countries. Measured IQs have also  risen, but this is a more complex picture. Whether this is a shift in actual intelligence or just an artifact of how it's measured remains a topic of debate, and the rise in IQ scores appears to have stopped and even reversed across multiple countries. Still, studies have refuted the notion that a decline in IQ is being caused by a {{w|dysgenic}} effect, meaning that the central thesis of ''Idiocracy'' remains entirely fictional.
-The irony, of course, is that Cueball is implicitly holds himself up as an example of intelligence (standing in contrast to the social decline in intelligence) and yet shows himself to be badly misinformed about the top he's discussing.
+The irony, of course, is that Cueball is implicitly holds himself up as an example of intelligence (standing in contrast to the social decline in intelligence) and yet shows himself to be badly misinformed about the topic he's discussing.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-The title of this comic is a reference to the dystopian comedy ''{{w|Idiocracy}}''. The film postulates that over about 500 years, society will suffer from a massive decrease in intellectual potential. This development could be attributed to the fact that people are more likely to reproduce due to lack of education, absence of planning, and general negligence with regards to the consequences of their actions. Randall presents a character who 'misinterprets' this, to say that those with a lower IQ are believed to be more likely to reproduce thus more readily pass on their genes.
+The title of this comic is a reference to the dystopian comedy ''{{w|Idiocracy}}''. The film postulates that over about 500 years, society will suffer from a massive decrease in intellectual potential. This development is implied to be due to the fact that people are more likely to reproduce due to lack of education, absence of planning, and general negligence with regards to the consequences of their actions.
-[[Cueball]] professes his approval for the theories represented in the film, and the guy with the white safari hat agrees with him, lamenting the gradual decay in intelligence and education. (Note that Safari Hat is not the same guy as [[White Hat]]! See below.)
+[[Cueball]] professes his approval for the theories represented in the film, and the guy with the white safari hat agrees with him, arguing that "the intelligent, upper classes" had previously had more children, but that this trend has reversed, dragging down intelligence and education levels. (Note that Safari Hat is not the same guy as [[White Hat]]! See below.)
-But in panel 3, Safari Hat suddenly reveals that all the "facts" he cited were wrong, and we learn that he doesn't support the dysgenic thesis at all. He turns to accuse Cueball of conceited self-righteousness (using religious zealots as an analogy), harshly condemning intelligence dysgenics as an excuse for feeling superior to the rest of society. Cueball's suggestion of {{w|Birth control movement in the United States|birth control}} for the unintelligent only furthers his attitude. Although it is not named, one thing at work here is the {{w|Dunning-Kruger effect}} &mdash; that stupid people don't realize they're stupid.
+But in panel 3, Safari Hat suddenly reveals that all the "facts" he cited were wrong, and we learn that he doesn't support the dysgenic thesis at all. He turns to accuse Cueball of conceited self-righteousness (using religious zealots as an analogy), harshly condemning intelligence dysgenics as an excuse for feeling superior to the rest of society. Cueball tries to rebut Safari Hat's arguments, but is cut off both times. From what we see of his words, he may be trying to use his dislike for modern popular entertainment as support for his thesis, and appears to suggest a compulsory eugenic breeding program. The latter appears to particularly upset Safari Hat, as he responds with his most direct insult: it would be better to reproduce with a stupid person than an elitist like Cueball.
-Safari Hat's punchline, playing on Cueball's birth control suggestion, is a direct insult: it would be better to reproduce with a stupid person than an elitist like Cueball.
+It's pretty clear here that [[Randall]] is voicing his opinion through Safari Hat, and using Cueball as a straw man.
-It's pretty clear here that [[Randall]] is voicing his opinion through Safari Hat, and using Cueball as a straw man.
+The title text reflects the opinion. It makes a few generally optimistic comments on the future, but then finishes on a rather sour note about {{w|climate change}}. Climate change is a [[:Category:Climate change|recurring theme]] in xkcd.
-The title text reflects the opinion. It makes a few cheery comments on the future, but then finishes on a rather sour note about {{w|climate change}}. Climate change is a [[:Category:Climate change|recurring theme]] in xkcd.
+Safari Hat's initial claim was clearly designed to include only false statements that might sound true to someone who wanted to believe them: there's always been a trend for poorer and less educated to have more children, it wasn't different in the past (and there's some evidence that this correlation is becoming less reliable with changes in culture, opportunities for women, and the availability of birth control). The claim that IQs and education are decreasing is also false: educational attainment has been rising for decades in all developed countries. Measured IQs have also  risen, but this is a more complex picture. Whether this is a shift in actual intelligence or just an artifact of how it's measured remains a topic of debate, and the rise in IQ scores appears to have stopped and even reversed across multiple countries. Still, studies have refuted the notion that a decline in IQ is being caused by a {{w|dysgenic}} effect, meaning that the central thesis of ''Idiocracy'' remains entirely fictional.
-In fact, a negative correlation between intelligence and fertility is disputed; see the Wikipedia article on the accumulation of disadvantageous genes: {{w|dysgenics}}. And regardless of this the actual absolute IQs in modern societies have been rising, see {{w|Flynn effect}}. This can be paraphrased with the statement, that if the generation of our grandparents would take a today's IQ test, they would barely score an IQ of 70 and be at the limit of intellectual disability.
+The irony, of course, is that Cueball is implicitly holds himself up as an example of intelligence (standing in contrast to the social decline in intelligence) and yet shows himself to be badly misinformed about the top he's discussing.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-The title of this comic is a reference to the dystopian comedy ''{{w|Idiocracy}}''. The film postulates that over about 500 years, society will suffer from a massive decrease in intellectual potential. This development is attributed to the fact that people are more likely to reproduce due to lack of education, absence of planning, and general negligence with regards to the consequences of their actions. Randall seems to have misinterpreted this, intentionally or unintentionally, to think that it was saying that those with a lower IQ are believed to be more likely to reproduce thus more readily pass on their genes.
+The title of this comic is a reference to the dystopian comedy ''{{w|Idiocracy}}''. The film postulates that over about 500 years, society will suffer from a massive decrease in intellectual potential. This development could be attributed to the fact that people are more likely to reproduce due to lack of education, absence of planning, and general negligence with regards to the consequences of their actions. Randall presents a character who 'misinterprets' this, to say that those with a lower IQ are believed to be more likely to reproduce thus more readily pass on their genes.
 [[Cueball]] professes his approval for the theories represented in the film, and the guy with the white safari hat agrees with him, lamenting the gradual decay in intelligence and education. (Note that Safari Hat is not the same guy as [[White Hat]]! See below.)

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 :Safari Hat: I know, right? It used to be that the intelligent, upper classes had more children.
-:[Zoom on on their heads as Cueball turns towards Safari Hat.]
+:[Zoom in on their heads as Cueball turns towards Safari Hat.]
 :Safari Hat: Sadly, the recent reversal of this trend has dragged IQ scores and average education steadily downward.
 :Cueball: Depressing, huh?

603: Idiocracy - Revision history

130.76.187.33: /* Trivia */ movie

FaviFake: /* Trivia */

76.183.232.121 at 17:44, 28 July 2025

Tromag at 19:54, 7 November 2024

172.70.90.72: /* Explanation */ I'm not entirely sure the prior change read the layers of satire/parody properly. How does Randall *personally* believe what was said?

172.69.194.148: Edited the first paragraph to point out that Randall had misunderstood what the film was saying, as per Pennpenn's comment, which I agree with about it more accurately representing what the film actually said.

ConscriptGuide: Should it be "Zoom in on"?

Theusaf: Reverted edits by Donald Trump (talk) to last revision by CRLF

Donald Trump: Reverted edit by anti-crap user

CRLF: Reverted vandalism with User:CRLF/OneClickUndo.js

172.70.90.72: /* Explanation / I'm not entirely sure the prior change read the layers of satire/parody properly. How does Randall personally* believe what was said?