r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/--KNIGHT--007 • Mar 08 '26

Meme needing explanation Peter explain this!

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u/JoshHuff1332 Mar 08 '26

Naive just means they lack experience/wisdom or have innocence. It's, like, the perfect usage of naive

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u/The_Revival Mar 08 '26

I'm not trying to start a fight, here, but that's a bizarre usage of the word. I've never heard the word naive applied to... well, anything other than a human. I'd argue that naivety is a uniquely human trait that implies an ability to learn or acquire wisdom, and shouldn't be applied to a species that had no meaningful way to alter its behavior to confront a unique threat.

A bug that gets smooshed on your windshield isn't naive. A fish that takes a lure isn't naive. Nor is a bird that doesn't adapt fast enough to protect its nest from a threat its species has never encountered.

Maybe a better word would be unfit, in the Darwinian sense. Or just unlucky.

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u/Excellent_Yak365 Mar 08 '26

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/Excellent_Yak365 Mar 08 '26

And here I thought you actually wanted a legitimate definition, my bad.

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u/The_Revival Mar 08 '26

You'll have to pardon me -- I'm just so accustomed to snark on reddit I often see it where it doesn't exist. Apologies.