> isn’t exactly common but it’s not exactly rare either.

Using electronics needs a drivers license like equivalent. Some people shouldn't have access to them if getting an HDMI connector wrong is an issue.

> Using electronics needs a drivers license like equivalent.

I bet everyone seriously wishes there were a "seriously honestly just not a fucking idiot" license. The fact that we know which way a connector goes puts us in a whole different league from the rest of the population; most people are so braindead stupid that they can't even fathom being smarter. Sometimes I wonder if being neurodivergent is even worth it. Do I even want the privilege of knowing enough of the bare minimum to outclass half the Earth, if it means that I'm constantly depressed by how stupid everyone else is?

BTW I wouldn't pass a graduation exam if my life depended on it, because my brain is not a textbook database of things that I don't care about. But that just means my ADHD has gotten the better of me.

The issue isn't knowing which way a connector goes; the problem is that some people act like gorillas and try to use brute force to force connectors into place, and then don't understand why it's broken.

Normal people will try to push a plug in with a normal amount of force, find it doesn't fit, then realize they're doing it wrong and try something different. (Or in the case of USB-A, turn it over and try again, find that's wrong too, then turn it over yet again and find it fits perfectly.) But there's some sector of the populace that just doesn't seem to understand how much force is appropriate for things like delicate electronic connectors. I'll bet that if you took a tour of their homes, you'd find many other broken and beat-up things too.

I have many broken and beat-up things, but at least those resulted from rage and not lack of motor control.

I have yet to see people die (and/or kill bystanders) by not being able to plug in an HDMI cable to their home entertainment system correctly.

I suppose the joke went over your head, sorry about that. I found it comical given the HDMI connector shape and how it would be nearly impossible to get wrong without being oblivious.

I mean, there already is an integrated element of punishment – if you don't manage to plug in the HDMI connector correctly, you don't get to watch any TV :)

My Mac Mini that I use as a server is positioned where I can't tell which port I am plugging into with any accuracy without unplugging it which I don't want to do