The Power of Stupidity
A review in Cartographer – Pune,
Maharashtra, India
November 28, 2010
also available as
pdf
(better for printing)
Useful insight
about human stupidity
by Neetu Manwani
Stupidity...
Have I ever mentioned that I have actually read about human stupidity? That’s right, it has been written about and published too! “The Power of Stupidity” is a book by Giancarlo Livraghi which does just that http://stupidity.it. Now it does not tell you how to be stupid, Thank God! But it provides useful insight about human stupidity. The most amazing thing about the book is that it does not tell its reader what to think but simply guides individuals on how to think. It is definitely meant for those who know their stupidity. But, I still stress, a must read for all.
Ever since I have read the book on Human Stupidity I have been fascinated with the subject. Well that is the kind of effect it has on, I guess, everyone. How strange I am actually interested in Stupidity.
Stupidity is defined as – ya there is a definition for it, bet you didn’t know that ;) – “Any act of a person which causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses”. So true!!
So according to the definition we have all been there and of course done that! At least I have. And if you are like me then there is of course a reason to worry about. The good news is that we know it, so we can work on it.
According to the definition we can only say that we are/were stupid or not, only after we have performed the action. Which is why it becomes extremely important that we understand ourselves. Watching our past will give us information on what went wrong, at least to some extent. That will help us change right... well I guess not. Only because all humans are creatures of habit. We are habitual to thinking in particular ways. For example we are taught as children to look at things as right and wrong... like cheating is wrong but how about cheating death is that wrong too...
The trouble is mental laziness. The solution to which is creativity. A creative mind can rearrange systems. So is that a permanent solution? Well in the short run it is... but only for a short while. The minute ideas are copied they become habitual thinking. So any creative idea was once indeed fresh, new and intelligent. The minute everyone blindly copies it, it changes its form and the result is stupidity.
If we blame stupidity on our existing system of learning and replace it with another, the result eventually will be the same.
It is safe to say then that ideas have a shelf life. The trouble is we can’t really put a date on any idea. I wish we could, in that case we would be forced to think new... which might reduce Human Stupidity.
Until next time...
Neetu Manwani
