'The Psychology of Stupidity' is an Extraordinarily Smart Read for Dumb Times
Jean-François Marmion’s collection of essays and interviews dissects why otherwise intelligent people embrace irrationality—and how critical thinking, humility, and humor offer the best antidotes.
In the 2006 film Idiocracy, the world 500 years in the future is a messy, ruined by people who rejected experts and intelligence, embracing their base instincts. Along comes a man of average intelligence from the early 21st century who, by default, is the smartest man on the planet. The president, played by Terry Crews, introduces this savior to the world.
“I have a three-part plan to fix everything. Number 1: We've got this guy Not Sure. Number 2: He's got a higher IQ than any man alive! And Number 3: He's going to fix everything.”
Mike Judge, who wrote and directed the movie about society’s descent into imbecility, could easily rewrite that scene with President Donald Trump introducing Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. In a world that has rejected science, expertise, and reason, the dumb turn to the dumber — armed with hairbrained ideas and rich in confirmation bias.
This eerie parallel to Idiocracy led me to read Jean-François Marmion's 2018 book The Psychology of Stupidity. It explores the reasons people reject facts, logic, and reason — and offers a foundational understanding of how we arrived at this moment. People aren’t necessarily stupid or lacking intelligence, but often make choices — or surrender to intellectual laziness — that leave them uninformed and prone to faulty conclusions.
Why a collection instead of a thesis? Marmion, a French psychologist, scientific journalist, and editor, wisely chose this format to draw on the perspectives of top psychologists, sociologists, and philosophers worldwide. While some essays repeat similar themes or examples, the multiplicity of voices offers a rich tapestry of thought and a deeper appreciation of the topic.
Marmion and his contributors distinguish between low intelligence, which may result from lack of education or mental impairment, and what they call “functional stupidity”: a willful avoidance of critical thinking, introspection, and the acceptance of facts. When Kellyanne Conway coined the term “alternative facts” during the early Trump administration, she wasn’t displaying low intelligence; she was actively rejecting reality.
Recurring themes include confirmation bias, groupthink, and the Dunning-Kruger Effect — and for good reason. These phenomena are central to understanding modern discourse. People like being right and hate being corrected. Encountering like-minded individuals reinforces their views, making them less open to contradictory evidence.
Groupthink is everywhere. Just watch The Daily Show. When Jordan Klepper interviews Trump supporters, he often leads them into contradictions. When presented with clear evidence that Trump violates their stated values, many simply shrug and say, “I don’t care.”
These cognitive patterns also help explain the influence of social media on modern politics and culture. When social platforms emerged two decades ago, they promised connection and expression — a place to share photos of food and cats. In 2010, a Facebook campaign succeeded in getting TV comedy legend Betty White to host Saturday Night Live. She credited Facebook for her appearance, joking, “Back in my day, looking at someone’s vacation photos was considered punishment.”
Today, social media serves a different purpose. People choose their tribes and adopt the group’s narratives, often rejecting alternative viewpoints to preserve their place in the social order. This tribalism fosters isolation and fuels irrational thinking. Marmion emphasizes how social messaging becomes more powerful as it goes viral — ideas gain strength through repetition and become harder to dislodge.
Extremists and political opportunists understand this dynamic well. When Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene rants about Jewish space lasers, she likely knows it’s absurd — but truth isn’t the point. Some people will believe it, and many more will rationalize it within their existing worldview.
Marmion doesn't leave the reader in despair. He and his contributors highlight ways to combat willful stupidity through humor, humility, and the reinforcement of critical, evidence-based thinking.
The Psychology of Stupidity ultimately deepened my appreciation for knowledge and intellectual discipline. Just as light needs darkness, intelligence needs stupidity to sharpen its definition and underscore its value. This idea resonates powerfully in the book’s final passage — a conversation with Tobie Nathan, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Paris:
“When you’re young, you’re more dynamic but you’re impatient; you find it hard to put up with people who don’t understand you. You’re irritated, furious, you try to convince people in spite of everything. Over time, it’s true that I acquired some patience, and a sort of sympathy for the banality of the world. I tell myself that in music, you have to have a background for the melody to appear. In the same way, stupidity is no more than the background noise that allows us to acquire a little wisdom.”
Wiser words on stupidity have rarely been spoken.
I'm on a mission to read 50 books in 2025. This is book 25 in my journey. What books are you reading? What books should I read? Share your thoughts in the comments or message me. All thoughts and suggestions are welcomed.