Stupidity

For other uses, see Stupidity (disambiguation).

Stupidity, or dumbness, is the property a person, action or belief instantiates by virtue of having or being indicative of low intelligence or poor learning abilities. Stupidity is distinct from irrationality because stupidity denotes an incapability or unwillingness to properly consider the relevant information. It is frequently used as a pejorative and consequently has a negative connotation. The term has fallen out of favor in medical journals as it is seen as a generic term used to describe a wide variety of conditions.

Etymology

Stupidity is a quality or state of being stupid, or an act or idea that exhibits properties of being stupid. The root word stupid, which can serve as an adjective or noun itself, comes from the Latin verb stupere, for being numb or astonished, and is related to stupor.

According to Merriam-Webster, the words "stupid" and "stupidity" enter the English language in 1541. Since then, stupidity has taken place along with "fool," "idiot," "dumb," "moron," and related concepts as a pejorative appellation for human misdeeds, whether purposeful or accidental, due to absence of mental capacity.

The modern English word "stupid" has a broad range of application, from being slow of mind (indicating a lack of intelligence, care or reason), dullness of feeling or sensation (torpidity, senseless, insensitivity), or lacking interest or point (vexing, exasperating). It can either infer a congenital lack of capacity for reasoning, or a temporary state of daze or slow-mindedness.

In politics

Template:Stub-sect Robert J. Sternberg notes that many politicians have acted in ways that were stupid despite indications of general intelligence. He argues that there is an inherent psychological drive causing some acts of stupidity.

In comedy

The fool or buffoon has been a central character in much comedy. Alford and Alford found that humor based on stupidity was prevalent in "more complex" societies as compared to some other forms of humor. Some analysis of Shakespeare's comedy has found that his characters tend to hold mutually contradictory positions; because this implies a lack of careful analysis it indicates stupidity on their part. Today there is a wide array of television shows that showcase stupidity such as The Simpsons. Famous fictional characters whose comedy is based on stupidity are Homer Simpson, Chief Wiggum, Goofy, the title characters of Dumb and Dumber, Peter Griffin, the characters in Laurel & Hardy, Ren and Stimpy, MTV's Beavis and Butt-head, Officer Barbrady, Patrick Star of SpongeBob SquarePants, Baldrick from Blackadder, Cody in Step by Step (TV series), and Rantanplan of Lucky Luke.

Group stupidity

Template:Stub-sect In psychology, group stupidity is known as deindividuation in crowds, and can lead to behaviors usually not displayed outside the specific social situation. The behaviors are attributed to a variety of causes, including loss of self-concept, incentives to conform to group behavior, and other dynamics.

Literature review

The first book in English on stupidity was A Short Introduction to the History of Stupidity by Walter B. Pitkin (1932):

Stupidity can easily be proved the supreme Social Evil. Three factors combine to establish it as such. First and foremost, the number of stupid people is legion. Secondly, most of the power in business, finance, diplomacy and politics is in the hands of more or less stupid individuals. Finally, high abilities are often linked with serious stupidity.

According to In Search of Stupidity: Over Twenty Years of High Tech Marketing Disasters, (2003) by Merrill R. Chapman:

The claim that high-tech companies are constantly running into 'new' and 'unique' situations that they cannot possibly be expected to anticipate and intelligently resolve is demonstrably false....The truth is that technology companies are constantly repeating the same mistakes with wearying consistency...and many of the stupid things these companies do are completely avoidable.

"While In Search of Excellence turned out to be a fraud, In Search of Stupidity is genuine, and no names have been changed to protect the guilty." according to one reviewer.

Other books on stupidity include, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30) (2008) by Mark Bauerlein and The Encyclopedia of Stupidity (2005) by Matthijs van Boxsel. Several books on stupidity have published in German, including Lob der Dummheit (In Praise of Stupidity) by Lutz Walther and Über die Dummheit (Over Stupidity) by Horst Geyer.

Carlo Maria Cipolla in his famous work Allegro ma non troppo ("Happy but not by too much" or, as in music, "Quickly, but not too quick") has an essay on The Fundamental Laws of Human Stupidity. In this work stupid people are seen as a group, more powerful by far than major organizations such as the Mafia and the industrial complex, which without regulations, leaders or manifesto nonetheless manages to operate to great effect and with incredible coordination. He also outlines five fundamental laws of stupidity.

See also

• Bounded rationality
• Darwin Awards
• Discrimination
• Dunning-Kruger effect
• Genius
• Hanlon's razor
• Idiot (person)
• Ignorance
• Irrationality
• Prejudice
• World Stupidity Awards

External links

• In praise of irrationality
• "Unskilled and unaware of it: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments" The authors received the 2000 Ig Nobel Prize in psychology.
• The Power of Stupidity by Giancarlo Livraghi, a series of nine papers on the nature of human stupidity.
• Understanding Stupidity by James F Welles, Ph.D.