Stupidity is causing harm to others without benefiting oneself.
Quote of the Week 10 “ Stupidity is causing harm to others without benefiting oneself, even potentially incurring losses in the process.” ― Carlo M. Cipolla (3rd Law of Human Stupidity) Triggered by a reference to the law by Prof. Gunter Dueck in a recent interview (@22:27 mins): “ Dummheit ist die Attitüde, anderen zu schaden, ohne sich selbst zu nutzen.” This is the essence of stupidity : actions that are not merely self-destructive but harm others irrationally. The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity is an essay by Italian economist Carlo M. Cipolla, originally published in 1976. It humorously yet incisively outlines five "laws" that describe human stupidity and its impact on society. Here's a summary (created by X/Grok3): Law 1: Always and inevitably, everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation. Stupidity is more widespread than people assume, and it catches us off guard because we tend to overestimate rational behavior. Law 2: The probabi...