Some of you may be thinking to yourselves, "well heck, the title of this node says it all."
You're probably right.
But I'm going to write this anyways, because I am continually amazed at the amount of examples daily life presents me with that more than justify why stupidity should be painful.

I'll admit it, I've done stupid things in my life. Perhaps a dull throbbing sensation in the head would be the best way to correct stupidity, sort of like a reminder to us all that when we're about to do something completely boneheaded, that maybe we should reconsider our forthcoming actions. But this would solve only half of the real problem. What are we to do about those people that keep doing stupid things over and over?

locking them up won't do. There are simply too many morons and not enough space. Killing them would be a tiresome and messy affair, not to mention deciding where to dispose of the bodies. Our only sensible course seems to be making stupidity terribly painful to these dolts. Perhaps the most effective way to implement this is to take one of those nifty dog collars that lets out an electric shock when you try to cross the wire boundary, wire it up to a smart chip, and program the chip with a basic set of logic instructions and a dash of sensibility. Hook these babies up to all the idiots, dumbshits, morons, boneheads, and assorted jerks, and PRESTO! Stupidity becomes painful.

Maybe then the rest of us can lead slightly more productive lives with those folks out of the way, trapped in their homes because they keep trying to use the garage door opener to turn on the TV.

It has yet to be proven that intelligence has survival value.
--Arthur C. Clarke

The problem is that for most cases, stupidity isn't painful. Making a mistake at work, your co-workers can cover for you. All too often there are nets of some sort or another that catch us as we fall from stupidity. Finger pointing is easy, you can always find a stupider person. Homer Simpson is a hero for too many people.

Other times it may be stupid, but it realized something. Many accidents in the world have lead to important discoveries. Where would we be without penicillin, a most fortuitous accident?

For other images...
Just think of the stupid masochist, who would go about walking with his shoes untied so that he can get a constant buzz of pain. Don't even start on the various forms of drug induced stupidity.

Do you really want the sadistic job of zapping most of the population of the world?

Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can't help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universeal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.
--Lazarus Long

"Stupidity should be painful" is a sticker placed on the laptop of a friend. At first we simply laughed about it and went on with our lives. But then it sank in that stupidity is already painful, just witness the Darwin Awards. A truly stupid person will eventually pay dearly for his/her lack of mental awareness.

I think we have all occasionally succumbed to a moment of "stupidity." Most people will simply chalk it up to a learning experience and move on with their lives. The truly stupid will not realize how narrow an escape they have had and may even repeat the stupid action. It is the repeatedly stupid people that will end up as a Darwin candidate.

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