(4 minute read)

Action is the real measure of intelligence. – Napoleon Hill

The world is over populated with stupid people these days. At least you would think so listening to people. There are Republicans and Democrats, Conservatives and Liberals, Christians and Atheists, Rednecks and City Slickers; all of which seem baffled by what they perceive as the others incomprehensible stupidity. We can’t seem to stop proclaiming how stupid everyone is who disagrees with us.

This blog post aims to find out who the real stupid people are out there once and for all. It might surprise you who the real stupid is.

There are a lot of ways people try to gauge intelligence. Yet, we all can agree a person’s intelligence is best determined by their behaviors. No amount of education, money, power, standardized test scores, or up-bringing can outweigh an individual’s actions when it comes to displaying intelligence.

Stupid is as stupid does, plain and simple.

Now let’s get out there and find who the real stupid ones are.

Here are 10 actions you will see real stupid people doing:

1. You will find stupid people repeating the same ineffective behaviors. They are never willing to take the time to learn a better way. Yet, they always seem to have time to do a task over and over using an ineffective method. This is one definition of insanity, “Doing the same thing over and over the same way and expecting a different result.” If you don’t want to be among the stupid, when things aren’t going right, take the time to find a better way.
2. Under no circumstances will they utter the words, “I don’t know.” Those of us who are smart have what is called conscious incompetence. That is to say, we know we don’t know it all and we aim to keep searching for more answers. You might say conscious incompetence is the first step toward self-improvement. Not until you are willing to admit you don’t know or there must be a better way, will you ever seek to improve. “He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.” –Voltaire
3. They live beyond their means. I’m not sure if this is because they are bad math students or they just can’t stop buying things. Either way, they never figure out you can’t keep buying things you don’t have money to pay for.
4. They never shut their mouths. No one ever got smart by talking. Knowledge enters through the eyes, touch, and ears. The only use for a mouth in learning is to ask a question. This leads to action #5.
5. They never ask questions. Real stupid people may ask a question just to hear themselves speak or to impress the audience with their deep understanding. Yet, they never ask a question to get the answer. Again Voltaire said, “Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”
6. They are always trying to make others look stupid. They have never figured out that by demeaning others their true character shines through. Politicians are masters at this one; but beware, the average person is doing a pretty good job at this these days. Your position is not made more plausible by demoralizing the opposition.
7. They somehow figure humanity is different now. “If it were possible for any nation to fathom another peoples bitter experience through a book, how much easier it’s future fate would become and how many calamities and mistakes it could avoid. But it is very difficult. There always is the fallacious belief: “It would not be the same here. Such things are impossible.” Alas all the evil of the 20th century is possible everywhere on earth.” –Aleksandr I Solzhenitsyn. Thinking somehow as a nation or as individuals we are better now, more cultured, more whatever, is foolishness. People have always had, have now, and always will have the same desire to control others.
8. They advertise their intelligence. Smart people have no need to broadcast their brains. Their actions speak for themselves.
9. They do not recognize their limitations. They have a “Watch this!” mentality. The horse world is an ideal place to pick this type out. So many get injured trying to perform a task they or their horse is not ready for. Either way it generally results in a rather ugly involuntary dismount of one form or another. Smart people are confident to operate within their current limitations yet are keenly aware of the dangers of reaching beyond their bounds without further knowledge and skill.
10. Their focus is on the unimportant. They get sucked into consumerism. They are into fads, fashion trends, and all the latest of everything. Smart people recognize no one even knows the Jones’ much less will ever catch up to them. “Your stuff defines who you are,” is the lie real stupid people have believed. They are caught in the never ending cycle of new stuff to buy. Such a futile effort should never cause us to sacrifice the important.

Maybe you are thinking the same thoughts I was when writing this. Turns out I know some pretty smart people and some real dingle-dorfs in all those categories at the beginning. If you are super smart you might even be thinking, “I could even be a bit dense myself.” If so, this post has met its aim. To encourage us to stop thinking everyone is stupid, gain some conscious incompetence, and focus on self-improvement.

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