🤤 Dumb, Dumber, Dumberer
Why being 'Dumb' works in the Creator Economy
What is Dumb 🧠?
So the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was invented in 1904 by Alfred Binet to test children’s cognitive abilities in schools in France. The IQ test has been used to mostly test individuals on their intelligence in standardized tests which gave them a quotient level of intelligence to categorize themselves. It is not a definitive way to measure someone’s cognitive abilities but it is still used in some ways for an assessment of general intelligence.
In some ways we can see how this can make someone feel that they are dumb if their quotient level is lower than the average levels. In fact we use to try to accurately pin point someone’s intelligence through the IQ Test but of course that is not the correct way to measure their cognitive skills. We have individuals who are masters in different domains like arithmetic, sociology, physical (sports) , or creativity. They may have a strong cognition in one of those domains or have partial cognition in several of them. There are other ways we can evaluate someone’s genius and through this domain we can review how we measure up in different domains.
We can’t really measure someones cognitive abilities from an IQ test which just gives you a standardized way of intelligence because intelligence can be in each of those domains mentioned above. The reason I say each is because we all know some people who may lack wisdom in one of those domains but excel elsewhere. Also when I say dumb I don’t mean it’s something wrong with them genetically but that they can’t comprehend certain topics and it is to their benefit that they can’t.
Let’s look at Dumb Entertainers
Everyone I am sure had a class clown who made us laugh and at times we would question if they are smart or dumb just because of the foolery they do each day. In fact when our class clown said something smart we would be puzzled at times. I’m not sure about you guys but I had fools throughout academia. I know they had to been fooling us so maybe we were the fools?
Speaking of fool, did you know it was an actual profession. A Royal Fool or Jester was common amongst Monarchs in the Renaissance and Post-Classical eras where they were hired for entertainment purposes. A Jester had a variety of skillsets such as songs, magic, poems, acrobats, juggling, plays/scenes, or a combination of some of those skills that they seek to amuse people with.
A Jester had played a variety of roles in English Royal history. They were used as psychological warfare by having them ride along with the army intended to mock and intimidate the enemy. Jesters also served as motivational coaches to their army by singing songs and telling stories.
Entertainers are here to amuse the public by doing different acts that changes our mood. To bring this back to modern day we can use the entertainer or ‘streamer’ Kai Cenat as an example. Kai uses his streaming (Twitch or Kick) platform to entertain his audience by doing different acts such as locking himself and his friends up in a prison for 30 days.
Why should I watch this form of entertainment especially if I am not a fan of his? Well maybe because Kai is also funny in some aspects of these streams through his behavior, antics, and his social circle. Fans tune in because it’s a new stunt/act that Kai wants to entertain them with. You feel apart of this stunt because you can post comments during these streams and maybe for a charge you can get your comments to be seen by others which makes you feel recognized.
You can think of Kai as a jester of sort since he entertains the masses with different skills or acts. Although not appointed by a nobleman or monarch to be their professional fool, he is appointed (paid) by Twitch (a corporation) to use their platform to entertain fans (users). It looks good on the monarch (Twitch) since guests (audiences/users) are having a good time and may want to come back (retention) for another visit.
Kai might be more cognitively strong in the creative domain where he is able to put together these skits, plays, and events so his audience can feel amused at his expense. It takes someone with a genius capability to be able to put this together to make it work. I am sure Kai is just being himself during his streams and is not thinking too deeply how to monetize or optimize his followings. It is part of what made him successful just being his self which is usually acting like a fool but don’t think he is dumb.
Why Dumb People are Successful?
We as consumers flock to this entertainment style since we get amused by the antics going on with the individuals involved in these acts. It is not only the acts but their personality and relationship to us that makes us feel compelled to watch.
It is of course not that they are ‘Dumb’ but that they are able to take risks that others would have to think about. It is ‘analysis paralysis’ that stunts ‘smart’ people with over analyzing ways in which to create content. Dumb people are not scared to receive ridicule online as it helps them to gauge their content. This is where you get to build your audience once you see interest in your content and it can be a motivating factor to keep posting.
Success comes from when you let go of what others think about you and do what you feel everyday you like to do. If you are a creator specifically, then this means to create in what ever field that makes you happy whether it is content, products, services, or a combination of those fields. It is time to be dumb in your creation process as it can help you to take a risk with what you want to output into the world.
Personally as I stated before I don’t think some of these individuals mentioned in this post are dumb but that they take the necessary risk with what they create and output into the world. They are genuinely having fun with their work and you can feel the childlike behavior that they have when they create content for us to consume.