A stupid person causes losses without gains. For example, tolerating destructive behavior from a high performer is stupid.
Cipolla’s Five Laws
- We always underestimate how many stupid people there are.
- Stupidity has nothing to do with a person’s other characteristics.
- A stupid person harms others without benefiting himself. (It is not right to harm others for personal gain.)
- Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid people.
- A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.
Carlo M. Cipolla wrote, The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity in 1976. It was published by Doubleday in 2021.
Carlos missed three laws.
The New Laws of Stupidity
#1. Everyone is stupid. The only thing in doubt is the degree.
Cipolla is wrong when he writes that stupid is genetic. If he’s right, there’s no hope.
Momma was right, “Stupid is as stupid does.” Forrest Gump
Stupid is behavioral, not genetic.
Everyone does stupid things. Daniel Kahneman’s book Thinking, Fast and Slow lists dozens of predictable errors in human judgment. If you think you’re exempt, you’re stupid.
You can become less stupid.
#2. Certainty makes you stupid.
The smarter you think you are, the dumber you become. Education is dangerous when the inexperienced think they know.
Non-stupid people know they don’t know.
#3. Trying to help stupid people is dangerous.
Cipolla is right when he says that we underestimate the destructive power of stupid people.
One thing must be true before people become less stupid. They must believe they are stupid.
Ego protects stupidity. Only the humble become less stupid.
Fundamental Propositions
- Power amplifies stupidity.
- Trying to look smart makes you stupid.
- An abundance of talk without action multiplies stupidity.
- If information was wisdom, we’d all be geniuses.
Stupidity is behavioral, universal, and reducible.
Where do you see smart people doing stupid things?
Show Up Stupid – Leadership Freak
