Stupidity Defined

Stupidity is willful ignorance.

Avoid stupidity, don’t avoid being wrong.

If you want to be right, i.e. have accurate mental models of the world, you have to be willing to be wrong.

“The more willing you are to be wrong, the more right you will be.” -Lawrence Sheraton

I’m not advocating philosophical skepticism where you question whether anything is knowable; rather I’m advocating having zero ego in the outcome of reality. Your goal should always be adapting the most accurate mental model, regardless of how emotionally invested in a less accurate mental model you may be.

Stupid people, regardless of their IQ, level of education, etc., are people who hold inaccurate mental models of the world, when they should know better, after evidence has been submitted to them, after convincing arguments have been made of the truth. They are people that hold onto bad ideas because they are emotionally appealing, or because they are afraid of the social cost of releasing them, or because their ego or immaturity won’t let them accept reality.

It should be noted that stupidity is on a spectrum and it possible/probable that smart people, who have accurate mental models in most things, have bad mental models of a few things. The opposite is also true, “a broken clock is right twice a day.”

There are likely few truly enlightened people. Full enlightenment is an ideal goal to approach. It should be everyone’s life mission to become less stupid as they go through the world. Growth involves unlearning bad mental models and learning better ones.

Why stupid people are a greater threat to society than evil people