31–40 of 60 posts
People can pretend to be stupid if it suits them. People can seem to be stupid if their reasons for action are not known. People can't help but be stupid if deprived of factual information or if presented with false or confusing information. Finally, all people are not trained to avail of the mental tools that civilization has honed over millennia to fight stupidity. In the end "stupidity" is a social phenomenon, dee…
"For Bonhoeffer, this concept was deeply rooted in his theological beliefs"
I will make a Christian commentary on ignorance. Here by "ignorance" I refer to the deliberate act of not wanting to know (something close to the author's definition of stupidity, but within the Christian perspective the concept I explained is more commonly used).
Spiritually speaking, ignorance is a kind of arrogance. If reason reveals to us the order of reality as created by God, the ignorant person harms themselves and others, dragging them into darkness through their refusal to know. They act as if they have the right to harm others for the sake of their own desires; that is arrogance. As stated above, it is a failure of character.
People can pretend to be stupid if it suits them. People can seem to be stupid if their reasons for action are not known. People can't help but be stupid if deprived of factual information or if presented with false or confusing information. Finally, all people are not trained to avail of the mental tools that civilization has honed over millennia to fight stupidity. In the end "stupidity" is a social phenomenon, dee…
A very humane post, thank you. I'd argue that the universal quantifier "all people are not trained" should be changed. Surely we can say that some people are trained in at least some of the tools to fight stupidity we, humanity as a whole, developed over the millennia. So a phrase like "not all people are trained" seems to be more on the mark to me. Beyond that I have little to say of substance, but I am curious. How…
Ha - stupid actions were in the dumb and dumber category which I avoided, but would be fun on a course in Stupidity
"He considered the lack of inner independance not a matter of IQ or innate cleverness, but rather a failure of character" "For Bonhoeffer, this concept was deeply rooted in his theological beliefs" I will make a Christian commentary on ignorance. Here by "ignorance" I refer to the deliberate act of not wanting to know (something close to the author's definition of stupidity, but within the Christian perspective the c…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sorry, I do not get one expression: what do you mean with «all people are not trained to avail of the mental tools»? Because some (many) people do train themselves and are trained on the mental tools etc. The expression as I read it seems to counter that.
"All people are not trained" can either mean "no people are trained" or, less commonly, "it's not true that all people are trained." Using it the second way can be confusing because it doesn't really mean what the plain reading says, but I think that's what they're doing.
It's got a kind of "all but" deal going on: two ways to interpret it.
Really annoying how the English language can't get quantifying phrases right.
No example given about what stupidity is. Then how can you tell the diff stupidity vs intelligence since there is not a point refence my friend? Should i take your word for it? "According to Cipolla’s "Basic Laws of Human Stupidity," a stupid person is one whose actions result in negative consequences for both themselves and those around them, irrespective of intent" Whould strongly argue against this.
The post doesn't try to teach people to tell the difference between stupidity and intelligence, but to give a definition and describe some of the mechanisms behind stupidity.
It still does give one example of stupid behavior ("Picture someone who (...)") and a few definitions of it. It's not well written, nonetheless, and might be at least partly AI slop or AI "researched".
>Whould strongly argue against this.
But, conveniently, not in this comment.
Besides, the post mentions some arguments against this already.
Timely essay. "Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice." I was thinking the other day that the real problem with people who have autocratic tendencies is not that they are bad people (although they may be) but that the systems they set up end up being so incompetent. The article is probably correct when it points out lack of humility as the root cause - Lack of humility being one of the defining c…
Theory of Bounded Rationality tells use we are all stupid given the right problem. It reminds us that problems exist which will cause us to hit limits not just in intelligence but in time, resources, skill, communication, attention, energy, info etc etc etc It also recommends what to do in such cases. You either pick a simpler prob where the limits matter less or Accept your solution for complex problems will have is…
> Theory of Bounded Rationality tells use we are all stupid given the right problem. I’d say one of OP’s main messages is that this is a misunderstanding or misuse of the word. We’re not stupid when we are aware of our limitations. Stupidity is more of a character flaw than a lack of intelligence. Perhaps you could say it’s a failure to even try to be rational.
People can pretend to be stupid if it suits them. People can seem to be stupid if their reasons for action are not known. People can't help but be stupid if deprived of factual information or if presented with false or confusing information. Finally, all people are not trained to avail of the mental tools that civilization has honed over millennia to fight stupidity. In the end "stupidity" is a social phenomenon, dee…
A very humane post, thank you. I'd argue that the universal quantifier "all people are not trained" should be changed. Surely we can say that some people are trained in at least some of the tools to fight stupidity we, humanity as a whole, developed over the millennia. So a phrase like "not all people are trained" seems to be more on the mark to me. Beyond that I have little to say of substance, but I am curious. How…