An Allegory of Folly (early 16thcentury) by Quentin Matsys

StupidityFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Stupidity (disambiguation)."Stupid" redirects here. For other uses, see Stupid (disambiguation).

Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, wit orsense.Stupidity may be innate, assumed or reactive a defence againstgrief[1] or trauma.[2]

Contents1 Etymology2 Definition3 Laws of Stupidity4 Playing stupid5 Intellectual stupidity6 Persisting in folly7 In culture

7.1 In comedy7.2 In literature7.3 In film7.4 Awards7.5 In technology

8 See also9 References10 Further reading11 External links

EtymologyStupidity is a quality or state of being stupid, or an act or idea that exhibits properties of being stupid.[3]The root word stupid,[4] which can serve as an adjective or noun, comes from the Latin verb stupere, forbeing numb or astonished, and is related to stupor.[5] In Roman culture, the stupidus was theprofessional fall-guy in the theatrical mimes.[6]According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, the words "stupid" and "stupidity" entered theEnglish 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 oraccidental, due to absence of mental capacity.

Definition

Engraving after Pieter Breughelthe Elder, 1556. caption: Al rijstden esele ter scholen om leeren,ist eenen esele hij en zal gheenpeert weder keeren (Even if theAss travels to school to learn, as ahorse he will not return)

The modern English word "stupid" has a broad range of application,from being slow of mind (indicating a lack of intelligence, care orreason), dullness of feeling or sensation (torpidity, senseless,insensitivity), or lacking interest or point (vexing, exasperating). Itcan either imply a congenital lack of capacity for reasoning, or atemporary state of daze or slow-mindedness.In Understanding Stupidity, James F. Welles defines stupidity thisway: "The term may be used to designate a mentality which isconsidered to be informed, deliberate and maladaptive." Wellesdistinguishes stupidity from ignorance; one must know they areacting in their own worst interest. Secondly, it must be a choice, nota forced act or accident. Lastly, it requires the activity to bemaladaptive, in that it is in the worst interest of the actor, andspecifically done to prevent adaption to new data or existingcircumstances."[7]

Laws of StupidityCarlo Maria Cipolla, an economic historian, is famous for his essays about human stupidity, such as"The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity".[8][9][10] He viewed stupid people as a group, more powerful by farthan 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.These are Cipolla's five fundamental laws of stupidity:

Always and inevitably each of us underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.1. The probability that a given person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic possessedby that person.

2. A person is stupid if they cause damage to another person or group of people withoutexperiencing personal gain, or even worse causing damage to themselves in the process.

3. Non-stupid people always underestimate the harmful potential of stupid people; they constantlyforget that at any time anywhere, and in any circumstance, dealing with or associating themselveswith stupid individuals invariably constitutes a costly error.

4.

A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person there is.5.

Playing stupidEric Berne described the game of "Stupid" as having "the thesis...'I laugh with you at my ownclumsiness and stupidity.'"[11] He points out that the player has the advantage of lowering otherpeople's expectations, and so evading responsibility and work; but that he or she may still comethrough under pressure, like the proverbially stupid younger son.[12]Wilfred Bion considered that psychological projection created a barrier against learning anything new,and thus its own form of pseudo-stupidity.[13]

Intellectual stupidityOtto Fenichel maintained that "quite a percentage of so-called feeble-mindedness turns out to be

Pictography of Alfred E. Neumanused in an editorial critical ofabolishing the poll tax in thesouth, with a caption showing theperson wants to vote but is tooignorant to understand whatvoting means.

pseudo-debility, conditioned by inhibition....Every intellect begins to show weakness when affectivemotives are working against it".[14] He suggests that "people become stupid ad hoc, that is, when theydo not want to understand, where understanding would cause anxiety or guilt feeling, or wouldendanger an existing neurotic equilibrium."[15]In rather different fashion, Doris Lessing argued that "there is no fool like an intellectual...a kind ofclever stupidity, bred out of a line of logic in the head, nothing to do with experience."[16]

Persisting in follyIn the Romantic reaction to Enlightenment wisdom, a valorisation of the irrational, the foolish and thestupid emerged, as in William Blake's dictum that "if the fool would persist in his folly he would becomewise;"[17] or Jung's belief that "it requires no art to become stupid; the whole art lies in extractingwisdom from stupidity. Stupidity is the mother of the wise, but cleverness never."[18]Similarly, Michel Foucault argued for the necessity of stupidity to re-connect with what our articulatecategories exclude, to recapture the alterity of difference.[19]

In cultureIn comedyThe fool or buffoon has been a central character in much comedy.Alford and Alford found that humor based on stupidity wasprevalent in "more complex" societies as compared to some otherforms of humor.[20] Some analysis of Shakespeare's comedy hasfound that his characters tend to hold mutually contradictorypositions; because this implies a lack of careful analysis it indicatesstupidity on their part.[21]Today there is a wide array of television shows that showcasestupidity such as The Simpsons.[22] Goofball comedy refers to aclass of naive, zany humour typified by actor Leslie Nielsen.[23][24]

In literatureThe first book in English on stupidity was A Short Introduction to theHistory 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 andforemost, 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 lessstupid individuals. Finally, high abilities are oftenlinked with serious stupidity.[25]

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 isdemonstrably false....The truth is that technology companies are constantly repeating thesame mistakes with wearying consistency...and many of the stupid things thesecompanies do are completely avoidable.

"While In Search of Excellence turned out to be a fraud, In Search of Stupidity is genuine, and no nameshave been changed to protect the guilty," according to one reviewer.[26]

In filmStupidity was a 2003 movie directed by Albert Nerenberg.[27] It depicted examples and analyses ofstupidity in modern society and media, and sought "to explore the prospect that willful ignorance hasincreasingly become a strategy for success in the realms of politics and entertainment."[28]

AwardsThe Darwin Awards honour people who ensure the long-term survival of the human race by removingthemselves from the gene pool in a sublimely idiotic fashion.The World Stupidity Awards are granted in several categories: statement, situation, trend, achievement;man, movie, and media outlet.[29]

In technologyUsed as a term to retrospectively apply to an earlier generation of technology. For example, "stupid-phone" to apply to a 2.5G mobile or POTS or even a non-cordless phone as opposed to the moremodern "smartphones" or cordlesses.

See alsoAnti-intellectualismBorderline intellectualfunctioningBounded rationalityDunningKruger effect

Extraordinary PopularDelusions and the Madnessof CrowdsGeniusHanlon's razorIdiot (person)Ignorance

Illusory superiorityIn Praise of FollyIQPigasus AwardThe DunciadThe Encyclopedia ofStupidity

ReferencesDiane Vaughan, Uncoupling (London 1987) p. 1351. M. Rustin/J. Bradley, Work Discussion (2008) p. 762. "stupidity" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stupidity). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2009-01-18.3. "stupid" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stupid). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2009-01-18.4.

"stupor" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stupor). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2009-01-18.5. Peter Green trans., Juvenal: The Sixteen Satires (Penguin 1982) p. 1266. James F. Welles, Ph. D. "Understanding Stupidity" (http://www.stupidity.net/story2/index2.htm). RetrievedJune 7, 2011.

7. Cipolla, Carlo Maria. "The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity|" (http://cantrip.org/stupidity.html?seenIEPage=1).The Cantrip Corpus. Retrieved 28 July 2013.

8. Abrahams, Marc (9 April 2012). "Improbable Research: the laws of human stupidity"(http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/apr/09/improbable-research-human-stupidity). The Guardian.Retrieved 28 July 2013. "Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals,it seems this is one of the laws of human stupidity"

9.

Cipolla, Carlo Maria (Spring 1987). "The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity" (http://www.extremistvector.com/content/stupid.html). Whole Earth Review. Retrieved 28 July 2013.

10. Eric Berne, Games People Play (Penguin 1968) p. 13811. Berne, p. 138-912. Salman Akhtar, Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis (2010) "Arrogance"13. Otto Fenichel, The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (London 1946) p. 18014. Fenichel, p. 18115. Doris Lessing, Under my Skin (London 1994) p. 12216. William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (London 1927) p. 717. C. G. Jung, Alchemical Studies (1978) p. 18018. Michel Foucault, Language, Counter-Memory, Practice (1980) p. 188-9019. Finnegan Alford; Richard Alford. A Holo-Cultural Study of Humor. Ethos 9(2), pg 149164.20. N Frye. A Natural Perspective: The Development of Shakespearean Comedy and Romance. ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1995.

21. R Hobbs. The Simpsons Meet Mark Twain: Analyzing Popular Media Texts in the Classroom. The EnglishJournal, 1998.

22. Canadian Press (29 November 2010). " 'The Naked Gun' actor Leslie Nielsen dies in Florida hospital at age 84"(http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20101129/101129_leslie_neilson/20101129/?hub=CP24Entertainment). CP24 Toronto's Breaking News. Bell Media. Retrieved 22 June 2012. "Leslie'shuge heart and fierce intelligence defined goofball comedy and he was its undisputed master." Paul Gross.

23.

Once More to the Well of Goofball Comedy (http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/movies/25brot.html),New York Times

24. Pitkin, Walter B. A Short Introduction to the History of Stupidity (http://www.deuceofclubs.com/books/109stupidity.htm) (1932).

25. "In Search of Stupidity, over 20 years of high-tech marketing disasters"(http://www.insearchofstupidity.com/). Insearchofstupidity.com. 2005-05-10. Retrieved 2012-11-07.

26. "Stupidity" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399704/). IMDB.com. Retrieved June 17, 2011.27. "Stupidity (2003)" (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1164158-stupidity). rottentomatoes.com. RetrievedJune 17, 2011.

28. "Account Suspended" (http://www.stupidityawards.com/World_Stupidity_Awards.html). Stupidityawards.com.Retrieved 2013-05-03.

29.

Further readingAvital Ronell (2002). Stupidity. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-07127-0.Alice von Hildebrand (2008-01-29). "When is Stupidity a Sin?" (http://catholicity.com./commentary/hildebrand/02432.html).Edmund Bergler (1998). The talent for stupidity: the psychology of the bungler, the incompetent,and the ineffectual. International Universities. ISBN 978-0-8236-6345-3.L. Loewenfeld (1909). "ber die Dummbeit: Eine Umschau in Gebiete menschlicher

Look up stupidity inWiktionary, the freedictionary.

Wikiquote hasquotations related to:Stupidity

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Unzulnglichkeit" (http://textlog.de./loewenfeld-dummheit.html) (in German).Paul Tabori (1962). The natural science of stupidity. Prentice-Hall International.Steven J. Bartlett (2005). "Moral Intelligence and the Pathology of Human Stupidity". Thepathology of man: a study of human evil. C.C. Thomas. ISBN 978-0-398-07557-6.Giancarlo Livraghi (2009). The Power of Stupidity. Pescara: Monti&Ambrosini.ISBN 978-88-89479-15-5.Robert J. Sternberg, ed. (2003). Why Smart People Can Be So Stupid. Yale University Press.ISBN 978-0-300-10170-6.Stephen Greenspan (2008). "Foolish action in adults with intellectual disabilities: the forgottenproblem of risk-unawareness". In Laraine Masters Glidden. International Review of Research inMental Retardation 36. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-374476-0.

External links"Unskilled and unaware of it: How Difficulties in RecognizingOne's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments"(http://www.apa.org/journals/features/psp7761121.pdf) Theauthors received the 2000 Ig Nobel Prize in psychology.A Stupidity-Based Theory of Organisations(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2012.01072.x/abstract), published in the Journalof Management Studies

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