stupidity
Sign in to savethumb|The Ass in the School – engraving after Pieter Breughel the Elder, 1556Caption: Al rijst den esele ter scholen om leeren, ist eenen esele hij en zal gheen peert weder keeren. ("Even if the Ass travels to school to learn, as a horse he will not return.")
AI overview
Stupidity refers to a lack of intelligence or inability to learn, as suggested by the medieval proverb that an ass cannot become a horse no matter how much education it receives. The concept matters because it reflects historical thinking about whether people's fundamental capacities can be changed through learning and effort.
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Article
13 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Definition
- Measurement
- Playing stupid
- Intellectual stupidity
- Persisting in folly
- Impact
- <span id="Goofball comedy"></span>In comedy
- In film
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|The Ass in the School – engraving after Pieter Breughel the Elder, 1556Caption: Al rijst den esele ter scholen om leeren, ist eenen esele hij en zal gheen peert weder keeren. ("Even if the Ass travels to school to learn, as a horse he will not return.")
Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, or wit, an inability to learn. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word stupid comes from the Latin word stupere. Stupid characters are often used for comedy in fictional stories. Walter B. Pitkin called stupidity "evil", but in a more Romantic spirit William Blake and Carl Jung believed stupidity can be the mother of wisdom.