The Rising Tide of Fluffy Thinking

Is it just me or are we about to reach the Stupidity Event Horizon? It's a tired old line, I know. But this is not just normal stupidity. This is a special kind of unthinkingness that seems to be creeping in. I am, of course, referring to The Colour of Money.

For those who don't know (oh how I envy you) The Colour of Money is a new ITV quiz show wherein what, for want of a better word, we will call contestants attempt to win massive cash prizes by successfully predicting the amount of money that is held within 'cash machines' dotted around the stage. There are twenty to choose from each containing between £1000 and £20,000. 'Contestants' pick ten at random wherein a grotesque spectacle ensues.

The screen comes to life and begins to count up in increments of £1000. The 'contestant' attempts to hold his or her nerve and shout STOP! at the right moment; that moment being the one just before a horrid big X appears on the screen accompanied by a sound effect which is the non-verbal equivalent of "twat!" indicating that they have cocked up and lost the lot. All the while the 'contestant' mouths silent prayers to the god of greed and laziness. This is all fairly harmless in and of itself. What worries me more is the fact that the 'contestants' actually appear to believe that they can predict the contents of the machine.

Lets get this straight. There are twenty machines. They are randomly assigned an amount of money. There is no pattern! You can't figure it out! You only get to choose half of them so you can't even do it by a process of elimination. But this doesn't seem to penetrate the terminally mushy minds of those involved in the show. They ponder, they mull, they scratch their craniums in agitation attempting to make the mental leap that over a decade of compulsory state funded education has failed to convince them is not possible! I watched with growing rage as one particularly deluded individual turned to her three companions (what are they there for!?) and asked in all earnestness "what do you think?" and thereby revealed to all that while she knew the word "think" she had not a clue what the action entailed! The sad truth is that they don't think.

It's sad, it's infuriating and it's everywhere. We are surrounded by people who seem to believe that logic and reason are optional extras. Nice little additions like throw-rugs or table lamps. Non-essential. It terrifies me. And why does it terrify me? Surely they're harmless creatures who will live out their confused little lives in a blissful state of incoherence? Maybe so. But a mind devoid of logic is mana from heaven to those with despicable agendas. The vile and coldly intelligent types who are all too logical despite how much we may wish to believe they are crazy. The sort who send mentally disabled people in to war zones with bombs strapped to them. If we are wandering dribbling towards international mental meltdown then it will be the devils among us who benefit.