Dumbness alone is rarely the driving threat: at the head of almost every dumb movement, you will find the stupid in charge.

Stupidity warning

There is a difference between dumbness and stupidity. Stupidity ‘’occurs when you don’t have the right conceptual tools for the job. The result is an inability to make sense of what is happening and a resulting tendency to force phenomena into crude, distorting pigeonholes.’’ According to Sacha Golob, two features make stupidity particularly dangerous when compared with other vices. First, stupidity is primarily a property of groups or traditions, not individuals. This makes it particularly hard to eradicate. Second, stupidity begets more stupidity. Someone can use stupidity on purpose to serve their interests when they need it. For example, in politics, stupidity can be extremely effective. Let’s be honest, it can be pretty easy to become stupid. Even in domains that we mastered we can become some kind of dick head. Because we rested on our laurels for too long, we became averse to change and continue to see our discipline in a way that does not match the reality anymore. I think starting by stopping being condescending and aggressive can help fight stupidity at the individual level and by consequence also neutralize its natural spread at the group level.