The 3 Causes of Human Stupidity
Grasping the power of human stupidity and how to counteract it.
Human stupidity is a complex, intricate, and controversial topic. Addressing it in the right way is always a grueling task. Not surprisingly, the risk of offending people is high, as well as the possibility of being misunderstood. This is why relying on books and studies that successfully untangle it is so important.
In particular, the Italian economist Carlo Cipolla was one of the leading experts in the field of human stupidity. The 5 Basic Laws of Human Stupidity, the essay that earned him unbelievable success, is now a milestone. This book has several lessons yet to be understood, and inspired many other studies and theories aimed at better comprehending human stupidity.
Let’s dive into one of these theories and understand the three causes of human stupidity.
The Power of Human Stupidity
According to Cipolla, it is behavior that makes people stupid. So, before delving into the causes of human stupidity, it is essential to understand the risks resulting from behaving stupidly. In fact, ignoring the destructive power of human stupidity can have dramatic consequences on society. So, let’s delve into what Cipolla summarized about this fascinating topic.
A stupid creature will harass you for no reason, for no advantage, without any plan or scheme, and at the most improbable times and places. You have no rational way of telling if and when and how and why the stupid creature attacks. When confronted with a stupid individual you are completely at their mercy.
In this excerpt extracted from The 5 Basic Laws of Human Stupidity, Carlo Cipolla makes it crystal clear. The power of human stupidity lies in its inherent unpredictability. This means that intelligent people will always be caught by surprise by attacks coming from stupid individuals. Plus, and even worse, there is no possible defense. Who could come up with a rational defense when the attack lacks any rational structure?
In particular, everyone consistently fails to recognize the inherently damaging, destructive, and devastating power of human stupidity. As Cipolla believed, the reason is that human beings tend to react with feelings of complacency and contempt when confronted with stupidity. This is a common mistake, preventing our brains from immediately building defenses. Neglecting the power of human stupidity is what makes it even stronger.
Furthermore, Carlo Cipolla cuttingly pointed out how stupid people affect the entire society by stating that “ one is tempted to believe that a stupid individual will only hurt themselves, but this is confusing stupidity with helplessness”. To make his thesis even more straightforward, he also added that “stupid people cause losses to other people with no counterpart of gains on their own account. Thus, the society as a whole is impoverished.”. This means that the effects of human stupidity are widespread and virtually inevitable. Believing that stupid individuals can only harm themselves is naïve. Likewise, ignoring them completely is not the solution.
Counteracting Human Stupidity
The fact that the activity and movements of a stupid creature are absolutely erratic and irrational not only makes defense problematic but also makes any counter-attack extremely difficult.
In this passage, Carlo Cipolla grasped the problem lying in countering human stupidity. Dealing with it successfully is almost impossible. Therefore, we had better try to avoid or at least reduce stupid behavior. Devising an enforceable solution in society for the good of all is too complex and politically risky. So, the only viable way we have to confront human stupidity is to individually behave rationally, thanks to introspection and awareness.
In this regard, a similar and appealing theory was proposed by an inspiring study conducted at Eötvös Loránd University. This research emphasizes that if we want to avoid experiencing, suffering, and being victims of human stupidity, we should all deliberately try to avoid it. How? By being conscious of its causes. As the study points out, they are only three causes and each of them causes a different degree of stupidity. Let’s see them all.
1. Distraction
This causes the lowest degree of human stupidity. Distraction leads people to miss goals due to a lack of focus. Not paying attention or not allocating sufficient resources results in frustration and time wasted. Distracted people tend not to spend the right amount of energy and concentration while performing relevant tasks. So, they behave stupidly because they struggle to achieve goals they are not truly willing to achieve.
2. Lack of control
This leads to the average degree of human stupidity. Lack of control is typical of impulsive people. Not having self-control means being a victim of events, acting irrationally as a result. As clearly described by Cipolla, this is the first and foremost cause of human stupidity. So, people lacking self-control behave stupidly because they are inclined to act impulsively, without rationality.
3. Ignorance and Overconfidence
This leads to the highest and most dangerous degree of human stupidity. Ignorance and overconfidence lead people to take risks. This, while they do not have the knowledge or skills required to manage and deal with the likely disastrous consequences. As pointed out by Carlo Cipolla, others will have to pay for the problems caused by these people. This also includes intelligent people. Ignorant people behave stupidly because their actions benefit neither themselves nor society.
Conclusion
The Italian economist Carlo Cipolla left us with a straightforward explanation of the power of human stupidity by brilliantly devising a theory based on irony and common sense. As we have just seen, counteracting human stupidity as a society is likely to be a utopian achievement. On the other hand, acting individually to improve themselves may be the solution. In particular, we learned that human stupidity has 3 causes, each of which leads to a different degree of stupidity. Addressing them all may be the only way to avoid human stupidity and reduce its inherent destructive power.
