The Encyclopedia of Stupidity

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

This book is the Schott's Miscellany of stupidity. Using a myriad of instructive examples, stupidity is dissected with the help of fairy-tales, cartoons, Baroque painted ceilings, jokes, flimsy excuses, traffic accidents, garden designs, pieces of nonsense, science fiction ...Matthijs van Boxsel introduces us to a past and present world of mishaps and misunderstandings, from tower-builders who lack a ladder to get into their tower to peasants who collect water with a sieve. In a smorgasbord of entertaining anecdotes, such as 'The Eggshells of Ignorance', 'The Hell of Fools', 'The Logic of Dual Stupidity', 'On the Origin of Dullards' and 'The Not Terribly Good Club of Great Britain', we are shown that stupidity is in fact the foundation of our civilization. And in an attempt to fathom the logic of this nether world, the author posits that no one is intelligent enough to understand their own stupidity. Nor can anyone hope to comprehend all the institutional stupidity that results from science and academia. In this erudite and witty book the author argues that - contrary to what we've always thought - stupidity is a crucial condition for intelligence, that blunders stimulate progress, and that failure is the basis for success.

Reviews

If there is one publication that qualifies for immortality and is also inexhaustible, it should be The Encyclopodia of Stupidity. Vrij Nederland Matthijs van Boxsel has collected the most fantastic facts and knows how to share with the reader his pleasure in doing so. NRC Handelsblad A superb collection of improbable follies, blunders, errors, stupidities and howlers. An uncommonly cheerful and exciting book. Elsevier

Author Bio

Matthijs van Boxsel is a literary historian who has been researching, writing and lecturing on stupidity for the last 20 years.