In his book, The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity, economist and professor at the University of California, Carlo M. Cipolla plots the identity and characteristics of stupid people. Those whom the bible calls a fool.
At first, the book seems almost satirical, but satire was not Cipolla’s purpose. His purpose was to graph the actions and attitudes that make up the stupid man and demonstrate that, far from being a novelty or rarity in history, stupid is in fact, the norm.
Here’s my summary of the five basic laws of human stupidity.
1. There are always more stupid people in circulation than you think
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (1 Corinthians 1:20)
No matter how high one’s achievements, no matter their class, career, or status in society, those you may have once thought sophisticated, intelligent and dependable, turn out to be stupid.
And they are everywhere.
2. Stupidity operates independently of any other characteristic
… fools are found in many high places (Ecclesiastes 10:6)
The percentage of stupid people in circulation does not change from place to place. Blue-collar, white-collar, working-class, rich or poor. It makes no difference.
Stupid people are not stupid due to economic, religious or social factors. The level of education, wealth or opportunity does not seem to impact the number of idiots moving freely through the streets. Stupidity is not the result of culture or ethnicity.
Stupid people appear equally in banks, bakeries, and family BBQ’s. They may be engineers, models or monks. They run countries, country clubs, and daycare centres. And, in accordance with the first law, the sheer number of them will always surpass your expectations.
3. Stupid people act without deriving any gain for themselves
A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul. (Proverbs 18:7)
The bandit will at least attempt to profit from the harm he causes others. The stupid person does not. He does what he does for no rational reason, and typically to his own hurt. He acts in ways that profit no one.
The perfect bandit is one who gains equally from someone else’s losses. So, the perfect bandit would be the one who gains a hundred dollars by stealing a hundred from someone else. But such bandits are rare.
Most bandits tend to create more losses than they gain. In other words, the exchange is uneven. The killing of Uriah for a one night stand with Bathsheba cost David far more than he gained. But at least he was attempting something that, though wicked, was at least rational.
The result is a fairly even distribution of clumsy bandits throughout society and throughout history. Some gain more than others, some are better bandits than others.
The stupid are not so. They are heavily distributed along one line. That is to say that they are unwaveringly stupid. They consistently do harm to themselves while consistently receiving no gain at all for their efforts.
4. Stupid people act without producing any gain for others
The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the fool invites destruction. (Proverbs 10:14)
Non-stupid people will make the mistake of thinking that a stupid person only harms himself. But this is not true.
Non-stupid people, perhaps with misplaced sympathy, often forget that at all times and places and under all circumstances, to accommodate the stupidity of a stupid person turns out to be a costly mistake.
Not only for the stupid person but for all of those around him.
The stupid person attacks without gain and without any level of self-awareness. A stupid person will harrass you without cause and without reason and all for no advantage. And they will do it at the most unlikely times and in the most unlikely places.
Because a stupid person’s actions do not conform to the rules of rationality (i.e, no one benefits) it follows that a non-stupid person is generally caught by surprise and, even when a non-stupid person becomes aware of the presence of stupidity, he cannot organise a rational defence because the attack itself lacks all common sense.
And so, the smartest thing to do with a stupid person, is to stand well clear (Proverbs 26:4).
5. A stupid person is more dangerous than a bandit
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. (Proverbs 13:20)
The stupid person is erratic and irrational, and this makes him more dangerous than a bandit, who at least considers his steps and calculates his actions and justifies his wicked deeds. A stupid person not only does all-harm and no-good, he does it without any sane reason.
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Martin Luther King Jr.
A non-stupid person may be tempted to associate with a stupid person in business or friendship in order to use him for their own plans. But such a manoeuvre is usually disastrous.
It is disastrous because it is based on a misunderstanding of the basic nature of stupidity (irrational and unpredictable) and because it gives the stupid person added scope for the exercise of their own unique talents.
As Cipolla writes, “One may hope to out-manoeuvre a stupid companion, business partner or colleague, and, up to a point, might actually succeed. But because of the senseless behaviour of stupid people, one cannot foresee all of the stupid person’s actions and reactions and before long one will find himself pulverised by the unpredictable moves of the stupid.”
A Final Thought…
That’s stupidity. That’s folly. It’s pointless, unproductive, painful and destructive. It is this way because it does not run along the lines of reality. It does not conform to the way the world is and the way God has made it.
Stupidity is man brushing his teeth with a spanner. But of wisdom, God says,
…by me princes rule, and nobles govern with justice. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. (Proverbs 8:16-17)
Wisdom is the chief thing. Therefore get wisdom.
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