The Psychology of Stupidity: Explained by Some of the World's Smartest People Paperback – 20 Jan. 2022

Don’t expect this to be a scientific absolute answer to how and why we, yes we do what we do every day, it’s in places a funny book, or rather it appealed to my sense of humour …

Nice

You must read this!

I bought this at the airport because I was impressed by the name-dropping of Kahneman, Ariely, and Gardner. I was expecting something more in line with popular behavioural economics books I have read. Instead, it was a clumsily translated jumble of ideas. The English-original chapters were easier to understand, but the author asked leading questions that did not lend themselves to insightful answers. I tried to finish the book three times and eventually gave up.

Misleading title, terrible translation and really full of stupid comments which is very ironic.

Somehow, inexplicably, it feels as though intelligent people are becoming more intelligent and those who we would deem as dumb are becoming dumber, which is often dependent on what you dedicate your time to doing. But the truth is everyone is capable of lapses in judgement and I'm sure everyone, at some point, has made a major fool out of themselves. That may be just my perception of it but it certainly seems to match reality. This is a collection of engaging, fascinating and accessible essays from a variety of psychologists, academics and educators which discuss anecdotes and statistics related to the scientific study of stupidity.Using a potent mix of psychology and philosophy it is not only thought-provoking but entertaining and sometimes amusing too. Written in a fluid, conversational style it is easy to become immersed in what these experts are espousing. It also explores our unconscious biases and how they affect the way we think and the difficulty in stopping them guiding our thoughts even when we recognise and acknowledge they are there. The book is comprised of interviews, essays, articles and Q & As, all with a view to understanding stupidity. It covers the topic from so many interesting angles and the fact that each chapter is written by a different author allows readers to dip in and out at their leisure.It's a lighthearted, fun and enjoyable way to learn more about this issue and discusses intelligent people who lack the important skill of critical thinking and fall for really stupid ideas to a critique of cynicism and collective stupidity to we as stubborn creatures not wanting to admit, or failing to recognise, our own stupidity. An absorbing, intelligent and eye-opening book from start to finish which is perfect for the layperson. Many thanks to Macmillan for an ARC.

I bought this book because I liked the title, but I should have thought a bit more about what the title suggested the book might address in the subject matter. The book took a very wide definition of stupidity and therfore, for me, lacked focus or structure. I did not enjoy and therfore could not recommend.

I'll be very honest, I read up to page 60 and gave up. I only began because the wife bought it at the airport and I'll gibe any book a try.As orhers have said, it reads horribly, with stilted, clipped sentences which might be poorly translated, but I suspect are equally tedious to read in French. It was so bad I had to double check the cover to make sure James Felton hadn't written it.Further, the author wears his politics on his arm, which mean you know all his right-on opinions a mile off; great if you're the kind of person who enjoys Led By Donkeys antics, but those of us with better judgement will find it grating.Save your yourself the time and money and avoid this. It's a pseud trying to show off, taking a joke - the joke being the use of naughty words - and running with it ad nauseum. No idea if he ever makes any kind of point or revelation, but I'm not bothered to find out.