So, I stumbled upon a book that I would very much like to read and it has quite a catchy title which is The Basic Laws Of Human Stupidity. This is a book written by Carlo M. Cipolla and so far, I’ve been searching for a way to get my hands on the book, if I can’t get it in hard copy, I’d have to go to Amazon to get the ebook because it feels like one book I would very much like to get.
In the book, Cipolla lists five laws of human stupidity and they’re as follows;
- Everyone underestimates the number of stupid people in circulation.
- The probability of a person being stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
- A stupid person causes loss to others while deriving no gain and even incurring loss from it.
- Non-stupid people underestimate the power of stupid people and constantly forget this fact, which is always a costly mistake.
- A stupid person is the most dangerous there is, more dangerous than a criminal!
- Carlo M. Cipolla.
Funny enough, when I think about this, these laws are all true. It might seem harsh, but the world is plagued by people who are basically stupid, and these are some of the worst kinds of people there are. The fifth law states that they’re more dangerous than criminals, and that’s a fact.
When an armed robber harms you, we know it’s to take your valuables from you. When a scammer targets you, we know it’s to defraud you of your money. However, the stupid ones are the ones that you never see coming, they will hurt you for no reason at all. They will be ready to hurt themselves if it means taking you down. That’s just how extreme it can be.
Sadly though, the world is run by people like these. We see these people every day. They’re in offices and top positions. We see it in countries that are sinking further and further into recession, the price of goods and services going sky high, and security at an all-time low. Yet, there will still be those who are in support of the people doing this to us. We are all suffering the same thing, we’re all buying fuel at the same amount, and we all have to struggle with transportation at the same exorbitant prices.
Yet, for one reason or the other, they refuse to look toward the collective good and instead focus on one singular objective. They don’t mind that they’re suffering as well, they don’t mind that their actions are only making things worse for everyone and themselves. All they know is that they want that particular thing to happen. And when it does happen, it doesn’t favor them. But they’re still happy.
We see this everywhere. In political spaces, on social media bants, celebrity fandom, places of worship… the list goes on and on. The bounds of stupidity are not limited by race, tribe, or religion. Stupid is an equal-opportunity ass-whooper. And if care is not taken, they will rule the world. Because those who have managed to figure out the code will know just the buttons to push to get them to do what they want.
This is why during elections it can be so easy to sway opinions. It’s why despite doing some despicable acts, some high-profile people can go scot-free. Because they have some people who are throwing it all in for them even though it’s affecting them negatively.
So then, what can be done? Honestly? I don’t think it’s gonna be easy. Because if the world is to become a better place, there have to be more non-stupid people in places of power. But we’re already handicapped. The stupid are the majority and a fraction of the non-stupid are power-hungry and have no qualms about using the stupid to carry out their heinous acts.
And who suffers for it? Everyone else, including the stupid!
Only God will help us.
