How Stupid Can People Be?

We are all stupid to some extent, but just how stupid are we? Throughout the past 15 years, Cornell University psychologist David Dunning has studied the human mind and how stupid people make decisions. In 1999, he developed a system of inquiry he called the Stupid Study. The Stupid Study has a few main findings. Most people are stupid when it comes to their personal beliefs, genetics, or bias.


Stupidity is a sign of cognitive self-awareness
Dunning's premise is based on thousands of interviews with people who claim to be stupid, yet cannot. This is due to the factors that impose human incompetence and prevent us from realising that we are dumb. He points to the example of Harry Houdini, the great illusionist, who fooled Arthur Conan Doyle by showing him various seance tricks. In response, Conan Doyle developed an elaborate counter-explanation to disprove his seance frauds.

Stupidity, as we all know, is a form of cognitive failure, the result of which is the inability to understand what we are experiencing. As a result, we tend to put phenomena in crude pigeonholes rather than trying to make sense of them. Ultimately, it is a sign of cognitive self-awareness to accept that you are stupid and not to think yourself too smart.

Stupidity is a sign of genetics
While scientists are not sure why some people are dumb, they do know that lead is a major contributor to the loss of IQ points in post-World War II America. Stupidity is the inability to identify patterns, to follow logic, and to learn from experience. Stupid people are novices at everything. As such, genetics may play a role in the development of these traits.

While some scientists believe that genes cause dumbness, there is also evidence that people can make themselves stupid when it suits them. A psychoanalyst named Wilfred Bion studied soldiers who shut down their thinking during battle. He incorporated this into his theory of learning and why people sometimes don't want to know. Bion went on to study how the brain learns and makes decisions. While it may be true that genes are responsible for 40% to 60% of IQ, there are other factors that play a role as well.

Stupidity is a sign of irrationality
It is common to hear the expression "I'm so stupid, I can't believe I did it," when describing some people's actions. These actions are often the result of distraction, lack of skills, or a combination of these factors. Stupid acts have been linked to higher levels of irrationality. Stupidity has a wide spectrum, but there are certain behaviors that people often associate with a high level of stupidity.

One common characteristic of irrationality is an overconfidence in one's abilities. Stupid people are those who lack control and attention and who are unable to recognize their own abilities. Such people are often referred to as "stupid," although they're not. People who describe themselves as "stupid" are often not necessarily "dumb." They may be very intelligent, but they're also irrational.

Stupidity is a sign of bias
Stupidity is a problem in many aspects of our lives, and it's even more pronounced in society, especially in business. While the occasional bout of dumb behavior is harmless, it can be extremely damaging. The economic meltdown, for example, was exacerbated by business cultures that reward stupid behavior. Bankers assumed that smart people behave logically and rationally, and thus rewarded stupidity by providing incentives to risk their assets.


While we would like to believe that actions are never done out of malice, we can't be sure. The existence of other possible explanations for an action is a good indicator of its cause. Therefore, we should always ask ourselves, "Is this action stupid?" before attributing any action to malice. If we find the alternative explanation to be true, we should assume that it is. Other ways to improve our effectiveness, such as assuming the opposite of a given situation, are also helpful. But always avoid attribution of actions to malice.