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The Dilemma: You want to assail someone’s intelligence, but you don’t know quite what word to use, which calls into question your own intellect.
Materials Needed: An IQ test would be helpful, but you can get by on just your wits—provided you have enough of them.
People You Can Impress: Well, idiots and morons both, for starters. But also psychologists. And you really, really need to impress psychologists, because—as you’ll see—you really don’t want them to think you’re an idiot.
Quick Trick: These days, the words are completely synonymous. But back in the dark days of psychology (which is to say until about 30 years ago), there was a difference, and here’s the quick trick psychologists used: Ask a question. If your subject answers, they’re a moron at worst. If they don’t answer, you might have an idiot on your hands.
The Reason: Anyone who says that political correctness never accomplished anything worthwhile should take a long, hard look at the lot of the idiot. In 1911, French psychologists Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon created the first modern intelligence test, which calculated IQ based on whether children could accomplish tasks like pointing to their nose (honestly) and counting pennies. The concept of “IQ” followed soon after, and psychologists fell so deeply in love with the scientific nature of the tests that they created classification systems. Any child with an IQ of above 70 was considered “normal,” while kids above 130 were considered “gifted.” To deal with kids below 70, psychologists invented a nomenclature of retardation. Those with IQs between 51 and 70 were called morons. Morons had adequate learning skills to complete menial tasks and communicate. Imbeciles, with IQs between 26 and 50, never progressed past a mental age of about six. And the lowest of all were the idiots, with IQs between 0 and 24, who were characterized by poor motor skill, extremely limited communication, and little response to stimulus.
The moron/imbecile/idiot classification remained popular, amazingly, until the early 1970s, when people started to note that the developmentally disabled have enough difficulties without being saddled with condescending labels. The 70s saw the move away from institutionalizing the developmentally disabled, and it has since been shown that the majority of people with IQs below 70 can lead productive and independent lives. Not to sound like Tom Cruise or anything, but the real morons in this story were the psychologists. Today, the classification system is one category broader—moron, imbecile, and idiot have been replaced with mild, moderate, severe, and profound retardation—and diagnostic factors other than IQ are considered in making a diagnosis.
Also Good to Know: The doubly offensive term “Mongolian Idiot,” which in the 19th and early 20th centuries was an actual, literal diagnosis, derives from people’s belief that individuals with Down Syndrome—with their wide-set eyes and round faces—resembled Mongolians. In fact, before the British physician JHL Down (1829-1896) lent his name to the chromosomal syndrome, Down Syndrome was known merely as “Mongolism.”
And there you have it. Now you know whether you’re working with idiots or morons. Need more clarification in your life? Check out What’s the Difference, a mental_floss book written by John Green, Chris Connolly, Christopher Smith, and (yours truly) Maggie Koerth-Baker.
Comments (10)
Comment
Just a comment: Whilst the “idiot”, “imbecile”, and “moron” terms are considered condescending TODAY, they started out being very precise medical definitions (through the mid 20th c.) and did not carry the stigma they do now. Over time, these came to be frequently used by the general public in the prejorative (as insults), and hence they fell out of favor as medical terminology. Thus, it’s unfair to say the psychologists of that day were “morons” themselves for being so condescending. We might feel warmer and fuzzier because newer nicer terms like “profoundly retarded” are now used, but these too are becoming dated and our descendents will look upon us with scorn for being so mean to the retarded… er.. mentally disabled… er developmentally delayed … er whatever. Changing the terminology every 20 years or so just makes *us* feel more caring.
posted by Jim on 3-5-2007 at 2:55 pm
I always took George Carlin’s word for it: Everyone who drives faster than you do is a maniac, and everyone who drives slower than you do is an idiot.
posted by Miss Cellania on 3-5-2007 at 3:23 pm
I can’t agree more than with what Jim wrote here.
It would appear that the mental floss author would indeed need a mental flossing for drawing foregone conclusions.
Frankly, this modern political correctness is an abomination. If someone is a Moron, Idiot or Imbecile in the clinical sense of the word, why not call ‘m that?
Let’s also continue calling waiters waiters and cleaning ladies cleaning ladies. Besides, I have a vague feeling an “Interior Hygiene Specialist” would cost me three times more than a cleaning lady.
posted by Chris on 3-7-2007 at 7:00 am
My question is, usuing the above heirarchy, where does “dumbass” fall?
posted by Alexz on 8-15-2007 at 9:49 pm
Thanks! Now I have “Mongoloid” by Devo stuck in my head. Oh-oh… now it’s “you eeediot” from Ren and Stimpy.
posted by Brad Greenwood on 8-22-2007 at 11:21 pm
By the by, it’s Down’s Syndrome, not Down Syndrome
posted by Neem on 8-26-2007 at 3:00 am
Neem, I guess you should tell the “National Down Syndrome Society” that they made a typo on their website/letterhead/etc.
posted by Bill on 10-23-2007 at 11:33 am
I am passing through because I want to identify my own mental capacity, I am not, and believe I cannot attempt to identify someone else’s problem if I cannot assess my own. And there is more than one sense to a common word’s definition, so before we commonly talk and let lose our regurgitated opinions let’s work and find answers. Also, that seems very strong minded of me, which in one sense is the opposite of feeble- minded or moronic.
posted by Steven on 2-27-2008 at 10:19 am
I use the term “profoundly retarded” to insult people all the time.
posted by Bush is Profoundly Retarded on 4-28-2008 at 6:15 pm
I’m not so sure about the completely objective character of those terms. I’m too lazy to wiki up any figures for proof but I remember to have read the term “Idiot” in classic literature - in the condescending way we are using it today. Admittedly in German.
Oh - just remembered “The Idiot” by Dostojewskij, too, written in the 19th century, alluding both to a “medical term” (epilepsy, actually), but also on the protagonist’s naive character causing social inhibitions - he’s perceived as being stupid by society.
You English native speakers do some research on the history of the terms “moron” and “imbecile” - I’m going to have a bank holiday now! ;o)
posted by Nella on 4-30-2008 at 12:07 pm