Who's the more foolish?

[matt--]

This one submitted by Bob Lion54.

Originally Posted by Bob Lion54

If it hasn't been done before:

Who's the more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him?


hehe

[Peff]

I would say. The fool who follows him...

Theyr not saying how fool the foolish are, but I guess..Uhm

a fool who follows a fool is the biggest fool because he follows a fool. Wich makes the fool who follows a fool more foolish :P

It's not that bad to be a fool as long as the fool fools with style

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

For all you know, they could be following a very charismatic fool

[MachineCult]

The fool is more foolish because the fool following the fool is only following to make sure that the fool doesn't do anything foolish.

[JediKnight707]

The fool. The fool who follows him is merely submitting themselves into peer-pressure

[counting_pine]

I think the answer to this question depends on two things:
How foolish the fool is.
How foolish the fool who follows him is.

With this information, the problem can be reduced to a greater-than / less-than problem, which is solvable in polynomial time.

[urluckyday]

No matter how foolish the fool is, the fool that follows him must always be more foolish...wow that's deep...

[JediKnight707]

While I still stand by my vote, my friend brought up an interesting point: does the fool who follows know that the fool is a fool?

[Darth Andrew]

This a trick question?

I say 'the fool who follows him' since onw would have to be a fool to follow a fool, foo.

[Peff]

Isn't it Obi wan Kenobi or Han solo or something, who says this in Star Wars IV ?

[Bob Lion54]

Originally Posted by Darth Andrew

This a trick question?

Its what Obi-Wan askes Han when Han says "Damn fool, I knew you'd say that." Rather than a trick question, its more of a retort.

Im actually supprised it was used for the poll. It just popped in my head when I read matt-- wanted people to send in poll ideas. I thought maybe he would get a kick out of it.

I'm glad it was used though. There have been some interesting, if circular, responses.

[Char Ell]

<_<
>_>
Where was the option for equally foolish?

IMO the follower is the more foolish of the two. But if the fool and his follower are both fools, then what does that make the person who observes the fool and his follower traipsing along their foolish path?

[Commander Obi-Wan]

The fool because the fool is the one doing it.....and the fool is following him. :O

[Jeff]

The fool who follows him because Old Ben is always right.

[Lantzen]

Depands on the situation, the one that follow the fool maybe trying to stop the fool from doing something foolish like someone said before, then the follower isnt the most foolish. But if he just follow then the follower is the most foolish

[Smon]

...fool is one of those words where if you say it, it doesn't sound like a real word anymore like plenty. Fool, fool, fool, fool, fool, fool, fooly, cooly, fool, see? Now it sounds like a totally different word.

[Ray Jones]

This question is a typical example for these most pregnant pseudo wise phrases you get thrown at with in 'class A' movies. There is no general answer to be found and if then it's most probably of paradox nature. A fools grade of foolishness is not to be classified depending on whether he's following another fool's footsteps or not. According to the definition of the word fool, this is not of importance or relevance.

I'd like to see an option "Double Chocolate Cookies" and thus vote for it.

[Darkkender]

He who follows a fool for any reason is still a fool. No matter how you justify a situation your still following the fool. Now being classified as a follower implies that you are being led by somebody. If you are being led by a fool then by default that makes you a fool as well. Now since it is universally agreed upon that those who follow and not lead are not independant thinkers thus they are foolish. This foolishness of following a fool makes the Follower the greater fool. So to the person who proposes this as an equation it would look like this.

void main()
{
fool = 1;
follower = fool;

fool + follower = greater_fool;
while(greater_fool > fool)
{
print("The Follower is the Greater Fool");
}
}

[popcorn2008]

Originally Posted by legowar

No matter how foolish the fool is, the fool that follows him must always be more foolish...wow that's deep...

I like this statement, and have to agree.

If you have a fool, he is in definition foolish. When a fool follows the original fool, they have to be more foolish because they followed the first fool. If the fool who follows wasnt as foolish as the first fool then they wouldnt have followed the original fool.

[PoM]

Depends.

[I say, I say]

The fool is already foolish, thus the other 'fool' already knows this. Yet despite this he allows himself or herself to follow the fool and therefore becoming more foolish than the fool.

[Niner_777]

I'd say that the fool is more foolish because the fool is already established as a fool, where as the fool who follows the fool hasn't actually been foolish at all and may not during the following of the fool

[=DEATH STAR=]

didnt obi wan in episode four summon that up? i voted for the fool who follows the other guy

[MagnaGuard]

Originally Posted by =DEATH STAR=

didnt obi wan in episode four summon that up? i voted for the fool who follows the other guy

Yep.

[igyman]

You'd have to be pretty foolish to follow a fool, so the fool who follows him gets my vote.

[Jae Onasi]

Originally Posted by counting_pine

I think the answer to this question depends on two things:
How foolish the fool is.
How foolish the fool who follows him is.

With this information, the problem can be reduced to a greater-than / less-than problem, which is solvable in polynomial time.

Any amount of foolishness is >0.
The Fool has x amount of foolishness.

Followers of anyone have y amount of foolishness simply for following, which is >0 (smaller number if they follow really brilliant people, a high number for following someone terminally stupid).

Someone who agrees with the fool has foolishness = to the fool.
Someone who follows does so because he agrees with the fool.

Therefore, the fool has x amount of foolishness, and the fool who follows has x amount of foolishness + y amount of foolishness for following. Since both x and y are positive, x+y>x, so the fool who follows is the more foolish.

[Emperor Devon]

Someone who's foolish is a fool. If someone is foolish because they follow a fool, then they themselves are a fool.

Since there's only one option, I vote fool.

[RedHawke]

Too much math in this thread!

The following fool is more foolish.

[Emperor Devon]

Silly RedHawke, to follow a fool makes one a fool! There's only one option to vote for.

[Jae Onasi]

Originally Posted by RedHawke

Too much math in this thread!

The following fool is more foolish.

Yeah, look at what multiple years of post-secondary education does for you.

[igyman]

Originally Posted by Emperor Devon

Silly RedHawke, to follow a fool makes one a fool! There's only one option to vote for.

Nope. There are two options, remember, the question here is who is the bigger fool (more foolish) and 'the fool who follows him' is the bigger fool.

[Emperor Devon]

Ah, but two fools who go after the same cause are equal fools, whether they follow each other not. The fact remains that they are pursuing their foolish ideas.

[igyman]

Originally Posted by Emperor Devon

Ah, but two fools who go after the same cause are equal fools, whether they follow each other not.

I don't agree with this. If someone pursues a foolish cause because someone else pursues it - if he follows a fool - then that someone is the bigger fool than the first one - the first fool pursues a foolish cause simply because he thinks that the cause is worth it, while the second, 'the fool who follows him', pursues that cause for that same reason, but more importantly, because he thinks that the first fool is right. This is the second fool's main reason, the opinion that the cause is worth it is secondary to this.

Originally Posted by Emperor Devon

The fact remains that they are pursuing their foolish ideas.

That's true, but again, the question here states, and I quote:

Who's the more foolish?

The answer to that is still 'the fool who follows him'. It all goes down to the number of reasons for pursuing the foolish cause and, more importantly, to the main reason for pursuing it.

[Sabretooth]

I vote for the fool, through a complex logical reasoning process.

But my heart tells me both are equally foolish.

[The Doctor]

Is the fool doing the following aware of the foolishness of the one he follows?

[Jae Onasi]

Originally Posted by The Doctor

Is the fool doing the following aware of the foolishness of the one he follows?

I don't know. Maybe he's being fooled.

[St. Jimmy]

I'm with The Doctor. If the follower doesn't know that the Fool is actually a Fool then he's obviously following the fool because he thinks he is right. I think the first Fool is the more foolish. The first Fool is already an established fool and is doing something straight out foolish, but the follower is obviously following the first Fool because he thinks he is correct. He wouldn't follow the first Fool if he knew it was foolish and wrong. The first Fool is just being outright foolish.
So, through my twisted logic, The First Fool is the more foolish.

[Halo_92]

the fool who follows the fool who is following the fool is the fool.

[Emperor Devon]

Originally Posted by igyman

I don't agree with this. {snip}

Wow, this reply is long overdue. They're both still fools.

[RC-1162]

i'd say the fool who follows him, because an un-foolish person will be able to make out that foolishness coming out of the fool.