How it works

Law #2 The probability that a certain person (will) be stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.

9
Carlo M. Cipolla
Random
picture loading error handler
11 thought(s)11

The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

This explores the controversial subject of stupidity. Stupid people are seen as a group, more powerful by far than major organizations such as the Mafia and the industrial complex, which without regulations, leaders or manifesto nonetheless manages to operate to great effect and with incredible coordination. by Carlo M. Cipolla
Stupidity
People
Smart
Human behaviour
Torsten Caspar
Get

Explore more quotes

Law #1 Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.
Carlo M. Cipolla
13
Law #3 A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses.
Carlo M. Cipolla
10
Law #4 Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. In particular non-stupid people constantly forget that at all times and places and under any circumstances to deal and/or associate with stupid people always turns out to be a costly mistake.
Carlo M. Cipolla
7
Law #5 A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.
Carlo M. Cipolla
8
A stupid person is more dangerous than a pillager.
Carlo M. Cipolla
7
Facebook:1015260697259391432756 1gc9hds.gyww6u5wmi
Two factors are important to consider when exploring human behaviour: Benefits and losses that an individual causes to: 1. him or herself and 2. to others.
Torsten Caspar
6
Facebook:1015260697259391432756 1oofk90.y71rgj5rk9
Intelligent people (top right), who contribute to society and who leverage their contributions into reciprocal benefits.
Carlo M. Cipolla
7
Facebook:1015260697259391432756 1qvlkpx.ya4ydgqfr
Helpless people (top left), who contribute to society but are taken advantage of by it (and especially by the "bandit" sector of it); note, however, that extreme altruists and pacifists may willingly and consciously (rather than helplessly) accept a place in this category for moral or ethical reasons.
Carlo M. Cipolla
8
Facebook:1015260697259391432756 1vrq0jx.bfrlw3766r
Bandits (bottom right), who pursue their own self-interest even when doing so poses a net detriment to societal welfare.
Carlo M. Cipolla
8
Facebook:1015260697259391432756 bmrwva.px8lqpk3xr
Stupid people (bottom left), whose efforts are counterproductive to both their and others' interests.
Carlo M. Cipolla
7
If you wait until you find something to speak up for something that youre passionate about that concerns you and attacks your own beliefs then eventually when the day finally arrives you might also find that you have forgotten how to speak.
Kamand Kojouri
Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep a bath and a glass of wine.
Thomas Aquinas
All are my friends. I have no enemies.
Mahavira
Apologies come in all shapes and sizes. You can give diamonds, candy, flowers, or just your deepest heartfelt sentiment.
Sarah Dessen
Wedding rings: the world's smallest handcuffs.
Anonymous
Opera is a musical scenery, a musical atmosphere in which the characters move and talk.
Erik Satie
It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.
Confucius
One succeeds in all Yogas through energetic practice—even if one is young, old, very old, sick, or weak.
Svatmarama
In the marketplace, small businesses are the face and voice of humanity, which provides them with a great advantage in the Age of the Customer.
Jim Blasingame
I took a gamble in becoming an actor and my dream job has been realised.
Brendan Coyle
Everybody wants to be famous, but nobody wants to do the work. I live by that. You grind hard so you can play hard. At the end of the day, you put all the work in, and eventually it'll pay off. It could be in a year, it could be in 30 years. Eventually, your hard work will pay off.
Kevin Hart
When I was in school, you never saw anyone who looked like us that was on TV. And that was really weird for me because there's so many people of South Asian descent in America - in the world.
Priyanka Chopra
To increase the zone of peace is to build the inner core of a stable international zone.
Zbigniew Brzezinski
I'm just living my life.
Curtis Joseph
Everything happens for a reason. I'm used to it, I prepare for it. Like I say, at the end of the day, those in charge of their own destiny are going to do what's right for them and their family.
Shaquille O'Neal
I wanted to get some nose job, because I don't like how my nose tip looks. My hand is also not as pretty, especially my thumb nails. Many people told me that I have ugly hands.
Park Shin-hye
Pop music, across its countless iterations, is a vast, amazing, thrilling art form. All life is in it. It stands for itself. The same is true of literature, but nobody feels compelled to toss Philip Roth a grammy just to prove it.
David Bennun
I think most non-Christians who try to be good people are probably better Christians than Christians.
Paul Kantner
If you meet the Buddha in the lane, feed him the ball.
Phil Jackson
Certainty is the mother of quiet and repose and uncertainty the cause of variance and contentions.
Edward Coke
Unfortunately, I'm allergic to all animals and even some people.
Wentworth Miller
Our life before moving to Washington was filled with simple joys... Saturdays at soccer games, Sundays at grandma's house... and a date night for Barack and me was either dinner or a movie, because as an exhausted mom, I couldn't stay awake for both.
Michelle Obama
The thing about Vegas is, I don't have to fly anywhere, and that really helps. It means I stay in one place for three weeks at a time instead of flying backwards and forwards.
Elton John
I'm a non-confrontational person. If I order salmon and I get chicken, I'm going to eat the chicken.
Danny Pudi