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(08-20-2015, 06:29 PM)GloryRhodes Wrote: Page 6 Thread Summary:
Question posed: Should a person that is mentally deficient be allowed to roleplay a person of intelligence, or is their implicit stupidity too egregious a flaw to allow such behavior?
For the question: Wit is an inherent ability which cannot be faked and which must be presented in detail in order for it to be taken seriously. Â The deficient cannot do this therefore their attempts are invalid and disruptive.
Against the question: People, despite any deficiency should be allowed to do as they wish, and there are methods for faking wit which must be considered before dismissal.
Uncomfortable assumptions:Â The posters for assume that they are not mentally deficient, and that their judgement of others to be less intelligent than they is reliable. Â The posters against suppose that the mentally deficient do not have the responsibility to be accepted, but rather that the intelligent have the responsibility to be accepting.
Unanswered questions:Â
- What is the definition of "dumb"?
- What is the definition of "witty"?
- Who is qualified to pass judgement as to what is acceptable and what is not?
- When judgement is passed, who is the gatekeeper to prevent such behavior?
- Why is the posed question important, and whose opinion determines the value of the discussion posed?
I brought up a discussion to spark debate, predictably, people got offended because they took it as a personal attack. I have never said I was one to judge wit, however, it shouldn't be difficult for anyone with half a brain to properly assess who can properly roleplay a trait. OOC and IC dissonance is easily detectable. It doesn't require an I.Q worthy of MENSA scores to see this.
Wit implies someone can come up with relatively sharp responses quickly, it implies someone can offer insightful assessment in a discussion without having to whip out google. Wit, unlike knowledge, is purely reactionary. "Dumb", on the other hand, stands for people who are stubborn, slow, illogical, and in a constant struggle to see from the other's perspective. Mind you, idiocy does not mean ignorance. An intelligent person can quickly come up with an insightful response, while the "dumb" counterpart will take longer and likely only offer a weak assessment. Sure, you could argue we don't truly know what the player does during the few minutes they take to respond, but if a player lacks the intelligence to come up with an insightful response, the response will be lacking for a character they claim is a "Genius".
Mind you, this is rare. People can often pull off these characters, but not if they lack the mental faculties. Say, player #1 and player #2 are arguing. Player #1 is someone who is perceived as "dumb" by the public OOCily. Now, these two are engaged in a heated debate ICly.
Unless player #1 has the intelligence to come up with insightful responses OOCily, he cannot portray that ICly, because it takes OOC effort to support your character's claims. Player #1 will be crushed by any other character played by a more "intelligent" player. So, the point is, player#1 would fail to say anything intelligent to back up the claim that their character is "a genius".
I believe in the multiple-intelligence theory, where some people are more proficient in some areas than other. I believe that someone who is terrible at math can still be extremely socially or linguistically intelligent. Intelligence is a difficult concept to grasp when the possibilities are so vast. However, I speak of cases where one person would be obviously inferior in every area to their character. You can be intelligent and not witty, however, it doesn't work the other way around.
Someone truly "dumb" is difficult to find, everyone has a gift of sorts, however, I speak of the very specific case where someone tries to play a character that vastly exceeds their mental capability.Â
Say I were to play a mathematical genius who specializes in Chemistry, and as a player, I have never studied any chemistry or ever been any good at math. If a character like mine who was roleplayed by someone who actually had talent in that area were to engage in a discussion/debate... I'd be ICly crushed. No matter how much I use google, I could never play my character as being better at mathematics than them because I, as a player, lack the mental faculties. I am intellectually inferior to the other player, and no matter how much I claim my character is a genius, ICly, my character will be crushed. This is an extreme case, but people seem to struggle to grasp the concept.
This is not a personal insult to anyone (despite the fact quite a few have tried to do so in this thread.)
Cute poem, by the way. Displays your maturity like a charm.
![[Image: xTOL5rv.gif]](http://i.imgur.com/xTOL5rv.gif)