The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

By Carlo M. Cipolla

Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Science & Math

The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity is an essay by Italian economic historian Carlo M. Cipolla, written in the 1970s and published as a short book in English in 2019. Cipolla sets out five laws, arguing that people always underestimate the number of stupid individuals and that stupidity is unrelated to education or status. He defines a stupid person as one who causes losses to others while gaining nothing, or even losing, and argues that such people are more dangerous than bandits.

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• Scott Galloway: “The stupid are not only destructive to themselves, but destructive to society. Highly recommend the book \"The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity\" by Carlo Cipolla (not just a matter of IQ) #January6th”