@Vee McMillen I think of brainwashed as a kind of intentional stupid. I'm pretty much convinced that if someone could design a real-time IQ meter, you could watch the needle drop as soon as you set someone in front of a television or Facebook. It's like the Skeksis in Dark Crystal draining our essence. There are numerous studies that show a group of people generally make wiser decisions than individuals, but what those studies never include are the subjective filters put in place by those with agendas in the real world. Even if the agenda is as seemingly benign as trying to limit offensiveness, it eliminates a spectrum of exploration necessary for the best decisions and solutions to be arrived at.