How Do You Deal with Stupidity? by Tim Maidment

This, sadly, really is a question that Lady M seems to be asked on a frequent basis, often by work colleagues. No, really, would I lie to you? It’s obviously a joke right? I mean, at first sight it’s a simple enough question, and one that is mostly posed with tongue at least slightly in cheek.

Unless she is faced with unequivocal evidence of it, her usual response is to ask how the enquirer is defining stupidity. With perhaps only a few conversational prompts, this is frequently sufficient to tie her interrogators up in semantic ribbons and bows long enough for her to walk away long before the penny drops.

We all know stupidity when we see it, at least right up until the point we don’t. I think that’s because our own incompetencies blind us to our deficiencies – it’s at the root of the old joke about how those who think they know everything are deeply irritating to those of us who do. It’s easy to be smug when you have answers or insights that you think are superior to someone else’s.

Challenging other people’s prejudices and expectations is one thing, but it’s even more important and difficult to challenge our own. There’s always something new to learn, and a new way to approach problems and situations as knowledge, experience and intuition intertwine. What you fervently believe to be the only answer today may leave you feeling rather stupid yourself tomorrow in the light of new information.

How can we best deal with stupidity? To assume we are, and do our best to keep asking questions.