Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (1976)
What makes a person stupid? If I have a friend who squanders their money while I save and build up wealth, are they stupid? What if they have a much happier and more fulfilling life than I do?<p>If you have a difficult job (like brain surgeon), but are terrible at most of the other parts of your life, does that make you stupid?<p>Are slow readers stupid? What if they invent a product or start a business that makes them a lot of money?<p>“Smart” and “stupid” are such harsh, black and white terms. They leave no room for the many shades of gray in between.<p>We all think we’re smart, even if we say we don’t. No one wants to be the dumb kid.<p>I feel like being “smart” usually just means you can think and process information a little bit faster than others. But like having a super fast cpu installed, it’s really a matter of what you do with it. You could write a bestselling novel on a slower computer. You could have a super computer and just go on Facebook all day.<p>It seems like every time I feel like I’m smart, I see someone who I thought was dumber who is more successful or happier than me, and I wonder if I was that much smarter in the first place.