Sorry, no picture so you get to look at my face. This is just a quick reply to Toward a Unified Theory of Stupidity by Yahula.
I’m an Anthropology student. I find humans, and human behaviour endlessly fascinating, and I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the subject. I have an additional cause for ‘stupid’ (I prefer to call it non-optimal) behaviour that I think is a major current driver.
When someone makes a move that doesn’t make sense to you, you need to ask:
1) What data do they have that makes this an optimal choice?
2) Does that data comport with reality?
So take the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was so stupid based on the open source data that I was shocked when I woke up that morning. I have NO idea what data Vladimir Putin is operating from, since he hasn't released it, so there’s no way of evaluating its accuracy in relation to reality. Based on how badly the Russian military has performed I’m fairly certain the data I was working with is more congruent with reality.
This isn’t the only explanation for stupidity. Life is complex, and humans especially so, but I think it offers a glimpse into why people so often take actions that are against their own better interests.
Veni, Vidi, Scripti