The Power of Stupidity

It is entirely possible to perceive the stupidity of another person as a special form of intelligence, for a while. While intelligence expresses itself in understandable, logical behavior, which makes it measurable, calculable, and controllable, the conduct of the stupid is senseless and therefore cannot be predicted or evaluated.

Stupidity can be amazingly effective: a stupid person may, for example, appear poised and in command of the situation in the midst of danger, simply because he does not have the imagination to realize the threat. A stupid person can appear to be decisive, merely because his inability to think abstractly leaves him with only one choice in a given situation - an instinctive one, and therefore quite possibly the right one. Being ignorant and therefore incapable of making comparisons, the stupid person is likely to be amazingly consistent in judging intellectual problems.

It may take months before one finally discovers the pattern behind the apparent lack of pattern, or system, in a stupid [...](individual)'s thinking, and is able to see behind the mask of self-assurance its true basis: an incapacity for abstract thought and a lack of sensitivity, founded on a lack of experience. [Esther Vilar]