![]() ![]() The probability that a certain person (will) be stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person. In particular non-stupid people constantly forget that at all times and places and under any circumstances. These are Cipolla's five fundamental laws of stupidity: Always and inevitably, everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation. In fact there is no explanation-or better, there is only one explanation: the person in question is stupid. Law 4: Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. Nobody knows, understands, or can possibly explain why that preposterous creature does what he does. Our daily life is mostly made up of cases in which we lose money and/or time and/or energy and/or appetite, cheerfulness, and good health because of the improbable action of some preposterous creature who has nothing to gain and indeed gains nothing from causing us embarrassment, difficulties or harm. ![]() But upon thoughtful reflection you must admit that these are not the events that punctuate most frequently our daily life. One of these strategies is associated to a stupid player that according to Cipolla is the most dangerous one as it undermines the global wealth of the population. We also recollect cases in which a fellow took an action that resulted in his loss and in our gain: we had to deal with a helpless person.* We can recollect cases in which a fellow took an action by which both parties gained: he was intelligent. The game expands the classical scheme of two archetypical strategies, collaborators and defectors, by including two additional strategies. ![]() “We all recollect occasions in which a fellow took an action that resulted in his gain and in our loss: we had to deal with a bandit. ![]()
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