The Marching Morons, a Fifties-era 1951 science fiction novel short story by Cyril M. Kornbluth, describes a future in which people of lower intelligence have continued to breed while the smart ones use birth control, with the result that the average intelligence of humanity is drastically reduced. The protagonist, a time traveler, is taken for a ride by an ordinary citizen in a flashy car that makes lots of noise and seems to be going quite fast, but he notes that it really doesn’t get anywhere very quickly.
Prof. Reynolds links to a NYT article: Hybrid Cars May Include Fake Vroom for Safety. Kornbluth would no doubt be delighted at the vindication of his prediction. I’m not totally sure the rest of us should be quite so pleased.
(update: corrections)
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15 October 2009 at 12:49 pm
cranky-d
It probably isn’t possible to underestimate the estimate politicians have for their constituents’ intelligence.
15 October 2009 at 3:46 pm
The Monster
Years ago, when one of my friends showed of his Prius a few years ago, silently driving it around the parking lot, I commented that the lack of engine noise could make the car more dangerous for people who are either visually impaired or distracted. Since cars capable of injuring people have since their inception been loud enough to be heard, I predicted at the time that some day a law would be passed to require a speaker under the hood to emit some kind of simulated car sounds.
There is nothing “moronic” about this at all. It is simply a recognition that pedestrians don’t rely entirely on visual information in peacefully coexisting with automobiles.
But don’t fear, enough moronic ideas remain to vindicate Kornbluth. Take ObamaCare (please!)