Stupidity, or
dumbness, is the
propertyIn modern philosophy, mathematics, and logic, a property is an attribute of an object; thus a red object is said to have the property of redness. The property may be considered a form of object in its own right, able to possess other properties. If, however,for every predicate there is a...
a
personA person is a legal concept both permitting rights to and imposing duties on one by law. In the fields of law, philosophy, medicine, and others, the term has specialised context-specific meanings....
,
actionIn philosophy, action has developed into a sub-field called philosophy of action. Action is what an agent can do.For example, throwing a ball is an instance of action; it involves an intention, a goal, and a bodily movement guided by the agent...
or
beliefBelief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.- Belief, knowledge and epistemology :The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
instantiates by virtue of having or being indicative of low
intelligenceIntelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence...
or poor
learningLearning is acquiring new knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, preferences or understanding, and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning may...
abilities. Stupidity is distinct from
irrationalityIrrationality is cognition, thinking, talking or acting without inclusion of rationality. The term is used, usually pejoratively, to describe thinking and actions that are, or appear to be, less useful or illogical than other more rational alternatives....
because stupidity denotes an incapability or unwillingness to properly consider the relevant information. It is frequently used as a
pejorativePejoratives are terms which have a negative connotation. Sometimes a term may begin as a pejorative word and eventually be adopted in a non-pejorative sense...
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.
Stupidity is a quality or state of being stupid, or an act or idea that exhibits properties of being stupid.
A fool's mind is at the mercy of his tongue and a wise man's tongue is under the control of his mind. 
Ali, A Hundred Sayings
I never heard tell of any clever man that came of entirely stupid people.
Thomas Carlyle, Rectorial Address at Edinburgh, 2nd April 1886
Aristotle taught that the brain exists merely to cool the blood and is not involved in the process of thinking. This is true only of certain persons.
Will Cuppy, The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody, 1950
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Robert J. Hanlon, Murphy's Law book two: More reasons why things go wrong! (1980) ISBN 0843106743 by Arthur Bloch|Arthur Bloch page 52.
"Folly is as great as the sea. It can compass anything."
Antef, Nomarch|Nomarch of Thebes, Egypt|Thebes, in Bolesław Prus's novel Pharaoh (novel)|Pharaoh (1895), chapter 61.
A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it.
Ed Solomon|Ed Solomon, screenplay, Men in Black
There is no sin except stupidity.
Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist, Pt. ii
Weapons-Grade Stupidity: Tech-support slang for customer intelligence that is so low it poses a severe hazard to those who come in contact with it.
(author?)
Stupidity, or
dumbness, is the
propertyIn modern philosophy, mathematics, and logic, a property is an attribute of an object; thus a red object is said to have the property of redness. The property may be considered a form of object in its own right, able to possess other properties. If, however,for every predicate there is a...
a
personA person is a legal concept both permitting rights to and imposing duties on one by law. In the fields of law, philosophy, medicine, and others, the term has specialised context-specific meanings....
,
actionIn philosophy, action has developed into a sub-field called philosophy of action. Action is what an agent can do.For example, throwing a ball is an instance of action; it involves an intention, a goal, and a bodily movement guided by the agent...
or
beliefBelief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.- Belief, knowledge and epistemology :The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
instantiates by virtue of having or being indicative of low
intelligenceIntelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence...
or poor
learningLearning is acquiring new knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, preferences or understanding, and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning may...
abilities. Stupidity is distinct from
irrationalityIrrationality is cognition, thinking, talking or acting without inclusion of rationality. The term is used, usually pejoratively, to describe thinking and actions that are, or appear to be, less useful or illogical than other more rational alternatives....
because stupidity denotes an incapability or unwillingness to properly consider the relevant information. It is frequently used as a
pejorativePejoratives are terms which have a negative connotation. Sometimes a term may begin as a pejorative word and eventually be adopted in a non-pejorative sense...
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
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
foolFool or Fools may refer to:* Fool, a jester or clown; or a person having poor judgement or little intelligence* The Fool , also called Excuse, a Tarot card used as a wild trump card...
or buffoon has been a central character in much
comedyComedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in Ancient Greece...
. 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 SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its eponymous family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
. Famous fictional characters whose comedy is based on stupidity are
Homer SimpsonHomer Jay Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and father of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
,
Chief WiggumChief Clancy Wiggum is a fictional character from the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Hank Azaria.- Profile :Wiggum is in his late 30s to early 40s and the chief of police of the Springfield police department...
,
GoofyGoofy is an animated cartoon character from the Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse universe, and is one of Mickey Mouse's best friends. His original concept name was "Dippy Dawg" in cartoon shorts created during the 1930s; then his name was given as "George Geef" or "G.G. Geef" in cartoon shorts during...
, the title characters of Dumb and Dumber,
Peter GriffinPeter Löwenbräu Griffin is a fictional character, and the protagonist of the FOX animated comedy series Family Guy. Peter is the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is married to Lois, and is the father of Meg, Chris, and Stewie...
, the characters in Laurel & Hardy,
Ren and StimpyRen and Stimpy, created by John Kricfalusi, are the titular characters in the Canadian/American co-produced animated television series The Ren and Stimpy Show and first appeared in the pilot episode, titled Big House Blues....
,
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
's
Beavis and Butt-headBeavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. Judge's short film "Frog Baseball", starring the characters Beavis and Butt-head was featured on Liquid Television, a show featuring short animated and live action material that could be considered the precursor...
, Officer Barbrady, Patrick Star of
SpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series and media franchise. It is currently Nickelodeon's highest rated show, the most distributed property of MTV Networks, and among Nicktoons Network's most-watched shows...
,
BaldrickBaldrick is the name of several fictional characters featured in the television series Blackadder. Each one serves as Edmund Blackadder's servant and sidekick. They are all portrayed by Tony Robinson...
from
BlackadderBlackadder is the generic name that encompasses four series of a BBC One historical sitcom, along with several one-off installments.All episodes star Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and his dogsbody, Baldrick. Each series is set in a different historical period with...
, Cody in Step by Step (TV series), and
RantanplanRantanplan is a fictional hound dog created by Belgian comics artist Morris and French writer René Goscinny. Originally a supporting character in the Lucky Luke series, Rantanplan later starred in an eponymous series. Rantanplan is a spoof of Rin Tin Tin, as idiotic as Rin Tin Tin is clever...
of
Lucky LukeLucky Luke is a Franco-Belgian comics series created by Belgian cartoonist, Maurice De Bevere better known as Morris, the original artist, and saw its best period written by René Goscinny...
.
Group stupidity
In psychology, group stupidity is known as
deindividuationDeindividuation, as described by Festinger and colleagues in 1952, is the situation where anti-normative behavior is released in groups in which individuals are not seen or paid attention to as individuals...
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-conceptSelf-concept or self identity refers to the global understanding as well as the world around us and a sentient being has of him or herself. It presupposes but can be distinguished from self-consciousness, which is simply an awareness of one's self...
, 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. PitkinWalter Boughton Pitkin was an American lecturer in philosophy and psychology at Columbia University , and professor in the Columbia University School of Journalism...
(1932):
According to
In Search of StupidityIn Search of Stupidity is a book written by Merrill Rick Chapman, first published in 2003. This book explores, in a humorous tone, the art and science of management used by high-technology companies....
: Over Twenty Years of High Tech Marketing Disasters, (2003) by Merrill R. Chapman:
"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 CipollaCarlo M. Cipolla was an Italian economic historian. He was born in Pavia, where he got his academic degree in 1944....
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
MafiaThe Mafia is a Sicilian criminal society which is believed to have emerged in late 19th century Sicily, and the first such society to be referred to as a mafia . It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct...
and the
industrial complexMilitary-industrial complex is a concept commonly used to refer to policy relationships between governments, national armed forces, and industrial support they obtain from the commercial sector in political approval for research, development, production, use, and support for military training,...
, 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
In game theory, bounded rationality is a concept based on the fact that rationality of individuals is limited by the information they have, the cognitive limitations of their minds, and the finite amount of time they have to make decisions. This contrasts with the concept of rationality as...
- Darwin Awards
A Darwin Award is a tongue-in-cheek honour named after evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin. Awards have been given for people who "do a service to Humanity by removing themselves from the gene pool"...
- Discrimination
Discrimination is a sociological term refering to treatment taken toward or against a person of a certain group that is taken in consideration based on class or category. The United Nations explains: "Discriminatory behaviours take many forms, but they all involve some form of exclusion or...
- Genius
A genius is a person, a body of work, or a singular achievement of surpassing excellence. More than just originality, creativity, or intelligence, genius is associated with achievement of insight which has transformational power. A work of genius fundamentally alters the expectations of its...
- Hanlon's razor
Hanlon's Razor is an eponymous adage which reads:-Origins and similar quotations:According to Joseph Bigler, the quotation first came from Robert J...
- Idiot (person)
- Ignorance
Ignorance is the state in which one lacks knowledge, is unaware of something or chooses to subjectively ignore information. This should not be confused with being unintelligent, as one's level of intelligence and level of education or general awareness are not the same. The word "Ignorant" is an...
- Illusory superiority
Illusory superiority is a cognitive bias in which people overestimate the degree to which they possess desirable qualities, relative to others, or underestimate their negative qualities relative to others. It is one of a class of positive illusions...
- Irrationality
Irrationality is cognition, thinking, talking or acting without inclusion of rationality. The term is used, usually pejoratively, to describe thinking and actions that are, or appear to be, less useful or illogical than other more rational alternatives....
- Prejudice
A prejudice is a preconceived belief, opinion or judgment especially toward a group of people characterized by their race, social class, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or religion...
- World Stupidity Awards
The World Stupidity Awards is an award ceremony that recognizes achievement in ignorance and stupidity during the past year. The WSA was founded in 2003 by Albert Nerenberg. The awards are sponsored by Just for Laughs, one of the world's largest and most prestigious comedy festivals...
External links