33:
173:(c. 371 – c. 287 BC), stupidity was defined as "mental slowness in speech or action". 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, senselessness, insensitivity), or lacking interest or point (vexing, exasperating). It can either imply a congenital lack of capacity for reasoning, or a temporary state of daze, or slow-mindedness.
184:; where stupidity means one must know they are acting in their own worst interest in that it must be a choice, not a forced act or accident. Lastly, it requires the activity to be maladaptive, in that it is in the worst interest of the actor, and specifically done to prevent adaption to new data or existing circumstances."
327:
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
230:
of "Stupid" as having "the thesis...'I laugh with you at my own clumsiness and stupidity.'" He points out that the player has the advantage of lowering other people's expectations, and so evading responsibility and work; but that he or she may still come through under pressure, like the proverbially
335:
indicated stupidity to be "a more dangerous enemy of the good than evil" because there is no defense: "Neither protest nor force can touch it. Reasoning is of no use. Facts that contradict personal prejudices can simply be disbelieved." The great danger of stupidity manifests itself when it affects
343:
the efforts of stupid people are counterproductive to their own and other's interest. He maintains that reasonable people cannot imagine or understand unreasonable behavior making stupid people dangerous and damaging, even potentially more dangerous than a "bandit" whose action at least has a
252:
maintained that "quite a percentage of so-called feeble-mindedness turns out to be pseudo-debility, conditioned by inhibition ... Every intellect begins to show weakness when affective motives are working against it". He suggests that "people become stupid
418:
frozen and wakes up 500 years later to find that mankind, increasingly dependent on technology built by previous generations that it does not properly maintain or understand, has regressed in intelligence to the standards of current-era
211:
Researchers
Michael Klein and Matthew Cancian have reported a declining aptitude among college educated applicants to the Marine Corps over the past 34 years, although this effect was not observed in the general enlisted population.
398:. It depicts examples and analyses of stupidity in modern society and media, and seeks "to explore the prospect that willful ignorance has increasingly become a strategy for success in the realms of politics and entertainment."
180:, James F. Welles defines stupidity this way: "The term may be used to designate a mentality which is considered to be informed, deliberate and maladaptive." Welles distinguishes stupidity from
215:
Researchers
Michael J. McFarland, Matt E. Hauer, and Aaron Reuben report those born between 1951 and 1980 may have lost an average of 2.6 IQ points from exposure to leaded gasoline.
138:
According to the online
Merriam-Webster dictionary, the words "stupid" and "stupidity" entered the English language in 1541. Since then, stupidity has taken place along with "
368:'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.
292:'s belief that "it requires no art to become stupid; the whole art lies in extracting wisdom from stupidity. Stupidity is the mother of the wise, but cleverness never."
487:
1298:
Stephen
Greenspan (2008). "Foolish action in adults with intellectual disabilities: the forgotten problem of risk-unawareness". In Laraine Masters Glidden (ed.).
268:
argued that "there is no fool like an intellectual ... a kind of clever stupidity, bred out of a line of logic in the head, nothing to do with experience."
896:
336:
larger groups. In a larger group, "the stupid person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil".
989:
439:, "...each laugh is tempered with the unsettling realization that vision of mankind's future might not be too far off the mark."
261:
to understand, where understanding would cause anxiety or guilt feeling, or would endanger an existing neurotic equilibrium."
1307:
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154:", and related concepts as a pejorative for misdeeds, whether purposeful or accidental, due to absence of mental capacity.
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based on stupidity was prevalent in "more complex" societies as compared to some other forms of humor. Some analysis of
227:
1343:"Unskilled and unaware of it: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments"
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argued for the necessity of stupidity to re-connect with what our articulate categories exclude, to recapture the
1356:
32:
1375:
659:
Cancian, Matthew
Franklin; Klein, Michael W. (2018). "Military Officer Aptitude in the All-Volunteer Force".
165:
is a quality or state of being stupid, or an act or idea that exhibits properties of being stupid. In a
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201:
20:
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Leslie's huge heart and fierce intelligence defined goofball comedy and he was its undisputed master.
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The talent for stupidity: the psychology of the bungler, the incompetent, and the ineffectual
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44:
Al rijst den esele ter scholen om leeren, ist eenen esele hij en zal gheen peert weder keeren
241:
created a barrier against learning anything new, and thus its own form of pseudo-stupidity.
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1319:
Story of
Stupidity: A History of Western Idiocy from the Days of Greece to the Present
1220:
Steven J. Bartlett (2005). "Moral
Intelligence and the Pathology of Human Stupidity".
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288:'s dictum that "if the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise"; or
371:
Today there is a wide array of television shows that showcase stupidity such as
1346:
1159:
378:
1182:
1369:
1104:
976:
The
Simpsons Meet Mark Twain: Analyzing Popular Media Texts in the Classroom.
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smartest person on Earth. Americans have become so stupid that society faces
340:
285:
281:
265:
249:
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58:
46:("Even if the Ass travels to school to learn, as a horse he will not return")
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963:
A Natural
Perspective: The Development of Shakespearean Comedy and Romance.
739:
464:
373:
234:
170:
54:
1183:"Über die Dummbeit: Eine Umschau in Gebiete menschlicher Unzulänglichkeit"
878:
990:"'The Naked Gun' actor Leslie Nielsen dies in Florida hospital at age 84"
696:"Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood"
498:
470:
435:
277:
139:
86:
69:, an inability to learn. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word
1035:
1350:
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407:
223:
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402:
377:. Goofball comedy is a class of naive, zany humour typified by actor
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113:, which can serve as an adjective or noun, comes from the Latin verb
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300:
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What Was I Thinking? The Dumb Things We Do and How to Avoid Them
897:"Bonhoeffer's Theory of Stupidity Explains The World Perfectly"
493:
430:
357:
119:
98:
62:
694:
McFarland, Michael J.; Hauer, Matt E.; Reuben, Aaron (2022).
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143:
132:
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Extraordinary
Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
66:
280:
reaction to Enlightenment wisdom, a valorisation of the
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of "The Stupid Man" attributed to the Greek philosopher
596:, translated by Peter Green, Penguin, 1982, p. 126
1300:
International Review of Research in Mental Retardation
625:
204:' required General Classification Test (GCT), and the
1238:
1125:
693:
1278:
631:
433:and collapse, and according to Pete Vonder Haar of
1259:
1219:
328:abilities are often linked with serious stupidity.
117:, for being numb or astonished, and is related to
1297:
1367:
867:A Short Introduction to the History of Stupidity
317:A Short Introduction to the History of Stupidity
81:are often used for comedy in fictional stories.
1316:
414:future America where a person of average IQ is
1158:
987:
1180:
1103:
284:, the foolish, and the stupid emerged, as in
19:"Stupid" redirects here. For other uses, see
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1357:‘A Stupidity-Based Theory of Organisations’
1222:The pathology of man: a study of human evil
1210:
894:
776:Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis
729:
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323:warns about the impact of stupid people:
244:
1023:Once More to the Well of Goofball Comedy
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97:believed stupidity can be the mother of
31:
85:called stupidity "evil", but in a more
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861:
855:
271:
885:
789:The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis
356:has been a central character in much
922:. The Cantrip Corpus. Archived from
196:(IQ), as well as tests that measure
988:Canadian Press (29 November 2010).
920:"The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity"
917:
455:Borderline intellectual functioning
344:rational goal, namely his benefit.
192:There are various tests to measure
13:
1097:
850:Language, Counter-Memory, Practice
14:
1387:
1336:
1281:Why Smart People Can Be So Stupid
1279:Robert J. Sternberg, ed. (2003).
944:Finnegan Alford; Richard Alford.
895:Peter Burns (November 10, 2021).
218:
1302:. Vol. 36. Academic Press.
1264:. Pescara: Monti&Ambrosini.
1213:The natural science of stupidity
1111:. University of Illinois Press.
965:Columbia University Press, 1995.
206:Army General Classification Test
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1016:
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946:A Holo-Cultural Study of Humor.
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824:The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
816:
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360:. Alford and Alford found that
1345:The authors received the 2000
1215:. Prentice-Hall International.
1166:. International Universities.
994:CP24 – Toronto's Breaking News
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1:
1361:Journal of Management Studies
1239:William B. Helmreich (2011).
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423:, and that he has become the
264:In rather different fashion,
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594:Juvenal: The Sixteen Satires
394:is a 2003 movie directed by
347:
257:, that is, when they do not
104:
7:
1260:Giancarlo Livraghi (2009).
442:
410:film from 2006, explores a
10:
1392:
1131:"When is Stupidity a Sin?"
978:The English Journal, 1998.
661:Armed Forces & Society
384:
202:United States Marine Corps
73:comes from the Latin word
21:Stupidity (disambiguation)
18:
1283:. Yale University Press.
634:"Understanding Stupidity"
310:
38:Pieter Breughel the Elder
1321:. Mount Pleasant Press.
1317:James F. Welles (1988).
673:10.1177/0095327X17695223
632:James F. Welles, Ph. D.
239:psychological projection
123:. In Roman culture, the
721:10.1073/pnas.2118631119
521:Intellectual disability
178:Understanding Stupidity
25:Stupid (disambiguation)
1262:The Power of Stupidity
1198:Cite journal requires
1181:L. Loewenfeld (1909).
1146:Cite journal requires
899:. Lessons from History
330:
245:Intellectual stupidity
47:
756:(Penguin 1968) p. 138
477:Dunning–Kruger effect
325:
194:intelligence quotient
127:was the professional
35:
1376:Limited intelligence
1211:Paul Tabori (1962).
1127:Alice von Hildebrand
1082:. rottentomatoes.com
1060:. rottentomatoes.com
926:on February 16, 2013
871:Simon & Schuster
813:(London 1994) p. 122
791:(London 1946) p. 180
509:Illusory superiority
450:Anti-intellectualism
231:stupid younger son.
16:Lack of intelligence
1359:, published in the
712:2022PNAS..11918631M
706:(11): e2118631119.
460:Bounded rationality
366:William Shakespeare
333:Dietrich Bonhoeffer
272:Persisting in folly
1080:"Idiocracy (2006)"
1058:"Stupidity (2003)"
918:Cipolla, Carlo M.
837:Alchemical Studies
826:(London 1927) p. 7
778:(2010) "Arrogance"
640:on August 24, 2011
515:In Praise of Folly
421:mental retardation
131:in the theatrical
48:
1309:978-0-12-374476-0
1290:978-0-300-10170-6
1271:978-88-89479-15-5
1231:978-0-398-07557-6
1173:978-0-8236-6345-3
1118:978-0-252-07127-0
863:Pitkin, Walter B.
848:Michel Foucault,
754:Games People Play
79:Stupid characters
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1084:. Retrieved
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998:. Retrieved
996:. Bell Media
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928:. Retrieved
924:the original
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465:Dumbing down
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352:The fool or
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1036:"Stupidity"
930:January 27,
903:January 28,
608:"stupidity"
499:Gullibility
471:The Dunciad
436:Film Threat
295:Similarly,
188:Measurement
1351:psychology
1245:. Taylor.
1038:. IMDB.com
1011:Paul Gross
617:18 January
579:2009-01-18
555:2009-01-18
533:References
408:Mike Judge
305:difference
282:irrational
224:Eric Berne
158:Definition
1109:Stupidity
974:R Hobbs.
681:151459137
412:dystopian
403:Idiocracy
391:Stupidity
348:In comedy
182:ignorance
163:Stupidity
105:Etymology
95:Carl Jung
51:Stupidity
42:Caption:
1370:Category
1162:(1998).
1107:(2002).
1086:July 24,
1064:June 17,
1042:June 17,
961:N Frye.
865:(1932).
740:35254913
570:"stupor"
546:"stupid"
443:See also
426:de facto
319:(1932),
301:alterity
278:Romantic
198:aptitude
129:fall guy
125:stupidus
87:Romantic
1000:22 June
731:8931364
708:Bibcode
644:June 7,
385:In film
354:buffoon
276:In the
115:stupere
89:spirit
75:stupere
1325:
1306:
1287:
1268:
1249:
1228:
1170:
1115:
948:Ethos
879:530002
877:
738:
728:
679:
494:Genius
431:famine
358:comedy
311:Impact
255:ad hoc
120:stupor
111:stupid
99:wisdom
71:stupid
63:reason
40:, 1556
677:S2CID
362:humor
152:moron
144:idiot
133:mimes
65:, or
1323:ISBN
1304:ISBN
1285:ISBN
1266:ISBN
1247:ISBN
1226:ISBN
1204:help
1168:ISBN
1152:help
1113:ISBN
1088:2017
1066:2011
1044:2011
1002:2012
950:9(2)
932:2022
905:2022
875:OCLC
736:PMID
700:PNAS
646:2011
619:2009
406:, a
290:Jung
259:want
228:game
150:", "
148:dumb
146:", "
142:", "
140:fool
93:and
23:and
1349:in
726:PMC
716:doi
704:119
669:doi
303:of
176:In
67:wit
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