Of course, the title of the book makes you want to read it. Everyone feels like they know people who do and say absurdly stupid things. I mean to vaccinate or not to vaccinate that is the question of our time… But I won’t claim to be highly intelligent, rather I find myself on the other side of the spectrum saying and doing stupid things without thinking before I utter the words that so easily flow out of my mouth. Thus, intrigued to find out more about why this is. a type of discourse and thought in which nobody tries anymore to find out if what’s being said is true, all that counts is the effect it produces.” - The Psychology of Stupidity by Jean-François Marmion It would be beside the point to conduct large-scale psychological experiments to investigate collective folly. Everything that could be proven in the lab is experienced every day in offices, where collective efforts in meetings produce so many stupid ideas … (c) YESS!!! I'm sorry but yes, that's what many people do all day long.

The Psychology of Stupidity - Google Books The Psychology of Stupidity - Google Books

For example, we’re not going to tolerate some homophobic bigot. If society is infinitely tolerant and liberal, that magnanimous approach will inevitability be exploited and destroyed by bigots. And while I don’t agree with the conclusions reached by Trump supporters, calling them things like “stupid” is unlikely to make any of them question those conclusions, or even be open to hearing the arguments presented in this book.In the book, originally published in French and edited by psychologist Jean-François Marmion, we hear from a melange of psychologists, neuroscientists, social scientists and other egg-headed academics.

The Psychology of Stupidity by - Publishers Weekly The Psychology of Stupidity by - Publishers Weekly

While I think the intent of this book was not to be an academic read or to inspire radical new theories regarding psychology, rather to showcase how we all are capable of stupidity which does not mean we are stupid but rather that we have some work to do on how we think and reason with the world around us. In a different year, I might object to foreign writers so frequently using the American president as an example of so many different ideas about stupidity, but in this year... Mr. President, if you don't want to be featured prominently in a book about the psychology of stupidity, maybe you should have made an effort to be a less obvious example. In a way, words that free themselves from their referents and proper meanings escape the ordinary confines of language. But a word is always a problematic entity: its meaning is open, and can be the object of negotiation between two interlocutors" There's also a long bit of writing that closely resembled a word salad by Pierre de Senarclens; decrying the concepts of nationalism and populism, because - (wait for it) - Hitler was a nationalist, and Donald Trump was a populist. Another "hot take" by an out-of-touch member of the intelligentsia. Thomas Sowell wrote an entire book dedicated to these kinds of people; Intellectuals and Society.Self-awareness is certainly one of the biggest steps anyone can take to at least appear intelligent. Being considerate an example of this. There are some fools who find it impossible to sleep when they are passengers; apparently they can sleep only when they’re the driver! (c) A friend recently asked me to review Jean-Francois Marmion’s book, The Psychology of Stupidity, for her radio show Book Choice (that’s the podcast link – my bit starts at 39m50s, and it is also embedded below). Dillard’s story reflects maturity and understanding from someone who was forced to mature and understand too much too soon. Despite being excited to start this one, I ended up being really disappointed with the book, for the reasons mentioned above.

The Psychology of Stupidity by Jean-François Marmion The Psychology of Stupidity by Jean-François Marmion

Quoting Misericordia's review on Goodreads "The word usage was illuminating. asshole(s/ry) were used 118 times, idiot(s/ic/) 86 times, fool(s/hardy/ed) 83 times, and moron(s) 21 times". Nothing is more impressive than someone literally counting these words in a book 🤣The sophisticated fool has a form of moral defect that, unlike other forms of stupidity, consists not of an inability to bend means to an end, but of blindness as to the nature of ends. This elevated form of stupidity is a vice, and those who are affected by it are wholly responsible for it (c) Listen, lady, you maybe dumbass beans but I like having you around on this blog. Makes me happy. I have a predicated IQ of 12, but your moar than welc0me to contribute these comments, even if you’re poems make me confusion most of the thyme. Please stop using big words. A: Yes, Donald Trump is a supreme asshole, an überasshole, if you like. I mean by that, that he’s an asshole who inspires respect and admiration for his mastery of the art of assholery, despite heavy competition from his peers. Assholes generally have to fight for the title of “asshole in chief” or “baron” of assholes, but few can match Trump’s prowess at piling assholery upon assholery (Kim Jong-un, in North Korea, being a notable exception). Those who manage it for a time, like Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, often end up becoming more docile." asshole', 'assholes' and 'assholery' were used 118 times throughout the book. In fact I'm getting the vibe that there's something uncanny going on with someone's butt somewhere...