Communicator (communicator) wrote,
Communicator
communicator

How happy is the moron, he doesn't give a damn. I wish I was a moron. By god, perhaps I am.

In my last post I expressed amazement at the number of stupid people there seemed to be. I note a certain cynicism in the responses :-)

A guy called Carlo Cipolla wrote five laws of human stupidity and I have a feeling some of you might agree with his conclusions:

- define a stupid person as 'a person who causes losses to others while himself deriving no gain'

- everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals

- ... and the damaging power of stupid individuals

- the probability that a certain person be stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person

... the implications are frightening: the Law implies that whether you move in distinguished circles or you take refuge among the head-hunters of Polynesia, whether you lock yourself into a monastery or decide to spend the rest of your life in the company of beautiful and lascivious women, you always have to face the same percentage of stupid people - which percentage (in accordance with the First Law) will always surpass your expectations.

- a stupid person is the most dangerous type of person

If you follow the link he discusses his laws at length; it's an amusing read.

Do I agree with him? In a sense. One comes across people who act stupidly, at all levels of society. I don't mean the innocent, or ignorant, or unintelligent (to some extent all of us are these). I mean those who spoil things, make things go wrong, fail to engage with the requirements of a given situation to no obvious gain to themselves.

But do I think they are genetically 'stupid'? No. I think this stupidity is a product of authoritarian social dynamics. Yes, it's the Marxist in me coming out I suppose. This failure to engage is a type of authoritarian/submissive behaviour, which is why it is often found among bullying and aggressive individuals. Gripping hold of a situation - whether a corporate project, a family crisis, a war, a room that needs tidying - is a dominant and assertive act. Failing to get a grip, making a mess of it, is a socially submissive act. In other words I think some people don't even try, they think it is safe and even (strangely) virtuous to fail, to their own detriment, and that of others. It's quite different from making a stupid mistake, which god knows I have done often enough, and no doubt will again.
Subscribe

  • Phew what a scorcher

    I see Gove has backed down on climate change and it's back in the curriculum again.

  • GCSE Computer Science

    My book is now for sale

  • LJ Settings

    At the moment I have set up this journal so that only friends can comment. I hate doing this, but I was just getting too much Russian spam.

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    Comments allowed for friends only

    Anonymous comments are disabled in this journal

    default userpic
  • 4 comments