Occasionally I answer questions on one of those public question and answer sites where self-appointed experts answer questions on a variety of topics.  One type of question that occurs frequently absolutely boggles my mind because it makes me aware that there are people walking around who are utterly devoid of common sense.  These are the questions that describe a medical condition and ask for advice on how to deal with it.

Does it not occur to the questioner that anyone with an Internet connection can answer the question – for instance, some kid who thinks it's funny to give a totally off-the-wall answer?  What absence of brain power causes someone to seek medical advice from complete strangers?  Would these people also ask, for example, the mailman what he thinks they should do about, say, rectal bleeding?

This is, in fact, precisely the question that prompted this post.  Someone on a Q&A site said that he was experiencing rectal bleeding and wanted to know "if I need to do anything about it."  Yes, you idiot, you need to see a doctor.  The last thing you want to do is sit there on your bloody butt and ask advice of anonymous strangers.

This question is only one of many such that I've seen on the Internet.  Indeed, like this one, most such questions are of the type that even a qualified doctor could not answer without at least examining the patient.  It hasn't gone quite this far, but I fully expect to see:  "Yesterday, I had real sharp pains in my chest and then I passed out for an hour.  Do you think I have a serious problem here?"

What amazes me most is that these people made it to adulthood or even adolescence.  One would think that these weak links in the evolutionary chain would have all been killed off by now.

"Intelligence is a constant.  The population is increasing." – Anonymous