The basic laws of human stupidity

The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity is a cynical yet entertaining essay by Carlo M. Cipolla, exploring the characteristics and distribution of stupidity in a semi-academic fashion. Be sure to read the full text, as without explanation the rules are not necessarily obvious.

1. Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.
2. The probability that a certain person be stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
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.
4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals.
5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.

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