Welles defines stupidity this way: 'The term may be used to designate a mentality which is considered to be informed, deliberate and maladaptive.' Welles distinguishes stupidity from ignorance where stupidity means one must know they are acting in their own worst interest in that it must be a choice, not a forced act or accident. It can either imply a congenital lack of capacity for reasoning, or a temporary state of daze, or slow-mindedness. The modern English word 'stupid' has a broad range of application, from being slow of mind (indicating a lack of intelligence, care or reason), dullness of feeling or sensation (torpidity, senseless, insensitivity), or lacking interest or point (vexing, exasperating).

287 BC), stupidity was defined as 'mental slowness in speech or action'. In a character study of 'The Stupid Man' attributed to the Greek philosopher Theophrastus (c. Stupidity is a quality or state of being stupid, or an act or idea that exhibits properties of being stupid. Since then, stupidity has taken place along with ' fool,' ' idiot,' ' dumb,' ' moron,' and related concepts as a pejorative for misdeeds, whether purposeful or accidental, due to absence of mental capacity. Īccording to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, the words 'stupid' and 'stupidity' entered the English language in 1541.

In Roman culture, the stupidus was the professional fall guy in the theatrical mimes. The root word stupid, which can serve as an adjective or noun, comes from the Latin verb stupere, for being numb or astonished, and is related to stupor. caption: Al rijst den esele ter scholen om leeren, ist eenen esele hij en zal gheen peert weder keeren ('Even if the Ass travels to school to learn, as a horse he will not return')

Engraving after Pieter Breughel the Elder, 1556.

The basic laws of stupidity