> > > > Hmm. I thought it was fourteen-year-old female posters. I'm definitely a moron. And, if it
> > > > makes you feel not-so-too-young, I'm an eighteen-year-old junior. In college.
> > >
> > > Who, I deduce, is not studying Psychology.
> >
> > What makes us say that?
>
> Because this is the perfect moment to point out that back in the days when "moron" was actually a scientific classification, it referred to the *least* extreme level of mental disability.
> Idiots, in strict scientific terminology, are more retarded than morons.
>
> Your use of the term "moron" without any mention of all this suggested to me that you were unaware of it.
>
> Paul

For some reason,I find this scientific stratification of unintelligence (or simply retardation?) very interesting. Can you give us a list of which terms fall where? For instance, would an "imbecile" be even worse off than an "idiot"?

I've also always gotten a certain enjoyment out of the etymology of the term "idiot". It suggests one who knows nothing outside one's own self -- a description that fits many people who are otherwise quite intelligent. :-)

Complete idi-Issy