The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

Law #1 Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.

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

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.

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.

Law #5 A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.

A stupid person is more dangerous than a pillager.

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.

Intelligent people (top right), who contribute to society and who leverage their contributions into reciprocal benefits.

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.

Bandits (bottom right), who pursue their own self-interest even when doing so poses a net detriment to societal welfare.

Stupid people (bottom left), whose efforts are counterproductive to both their and others' interests.