The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity: The International Bestseller

Very concise, but damningly accurate. Stupidity is introduced as an action that has a negative outcome for others whilst also negatively affecting oneself. I was at first sceptical of this definition, but Cipolla answered my doubts in the rest of this tiny book. Some observations.... Stupidity is consistent across social class. We can all take stupid actions, but some people are through repeated actions weighted towards the label stupid. Many people whom we think of as stupid are in fact helpless or unsuccessful bandits. More depressingly, countries can be doomed by stupidity. The truly stupid are extremely dangerous and by their lose/lose approach cause a net drain on society once they are allowed, by non-stupid people who cannot understand their irrationality and underestimate their stupidity, to take increasing actions that unbalance the win / win gains that not so stupid people take.

According to Cipolla’s scheme, I must fall into the Helpless category: he (or his estate) gained my money while I gained nothing. Quite what the point of this essay was I don’t know; it simplified ideas I had already encountered and theorised others without evidence, and it offered no possibility of change. Stupidity is innate and proportionally constant across time and place: so what’s the point? Is this sophisticated satire or cynicism or just stupid or what? I’m genuinely puzzled.

Brilliant little book. It's very short, one evening's read, but it's very well written and interesting.No, it doesn't offer solutions. If it was easy to find a solution for the biggest problem in human history, I'm sure we would have found it by now. But who knows, a better understanding of how stupidity works could be a step in the right direction ☺🤞

I'm not even sure why I bought this. I think I encountered a review of it, although it far from being a new publication. It did appeal to my somewhat jaundiced view of human nature, but that then raises more questions about my outlook, than on the validity of the book.It is amusingly well-written. It is a bit repetitive - which for a short book is some feat. But it makes its point about the danger of human stupidity quite persuasively, although one does feel ashamed at the same time for even agreeing with the book's premise.I am sure there is some valid truth here somewhere. Just don't take it too seriously.

It was hard to read. Very academic. I feel this is a wasted opportunity to create a really good book from a great headline. I felt it was a bit of a let down to be honest.