We have to go back to Latin to find the etymological origin of the word stupidity . Thus, when doing so we discover that it is the result of the sum of the term "stupidus", which can be translated as "stunned", and the suffix "-ez", which is used to express a quality.
A stupid thing is something said or done by a stupid person . This term (stupid), for its part, refers to someone lacking intelligence , clumsy or foolish . It can be said, therefore, that something stupid is nonsense or something that has no logic .
For example: "The explanation that the chancellor gave was stupidity that not even my eight-year-old son would believe," "Driving at more than 100 kilometers per hour in the middle of a city is stupidity that puts the lives of many people at risk. " people" , "There are people who believe in Kabbalah and amulets, but for me they are nothing more than nonsense."
An aggressive or derogatory term
The notion of stupidity usually has a derogatory or aggressive connotation . That is to say: it is not usually used as a qualification for the behavior or sayings of the person who really has little intelligence due to a mental deficiency.
A person can point out the stupidity of another when the latter makes a mistake or shows clumsiness . Let's imagine that, in the middle of a dinner , a glass of wine falls to the floor, spilling its contents. A man decides to clean the stain, using his wife's coat to absorb the wine. His wife , therefore, accuses him of doing something stupid since the logical thing would have been to use a cloth or rag for said task.
The Theory of Stupidity
It is curious to note that there is even a theory about the term we are addressing. The Italian historian Carlo Maria Cipolla (1922 – 2000) was, specifically, the personality who developed what is known as the Theory of Stupidity. In 1988 he presented this set of ideas about that "quality" that some humans have.
In that sense, it makes it clear that stupid people form a group of the four that exist worldwide. Thus, there would be those besides the intelligent, the unfortunate and the evil.
Through a pamphlet titled "Allegro ma non tropo" he presented the theory, in which he established, among many other things, that the group of stupid people in the whole world is enormous. It also makes it clear that someone is one when they cause harm to another person and not only do they not obtain any type of benefit but they also cause harm to themselves.
This thinker has not been the only one who has addressed the issue of human stupidity. Figures such as the Spanish philosopher Fernando Savater have also done so and statements have even been made such as that there are two things that are infinite in the world: the universe and the stupidity of man.
It is important to note that what is defined as stupidity is subjective . A soccer player who decides to enter the field of play stepping with his right foot first feels that this action brings him good luck, although some of his teammates describe the custom as stupidity.