This Bestseller Made Me Feel Stupider | The Psychology of Stupidity Review

Can a book about stupidity leave you feeling stupider? The Psychology of Stupidity, edited by Jean-François Marmion, promises explanations from some of the world's smartest people. I finished it wondering how it became a bestseller.

In this Mere Mortals Book Review, I explain why the collection disappointed me: repetitive discussions of terminology, arguments I found one-sided, and interviews that didn't deliver the depth I was hoping for.

I also discuss the handful of ideas I did find interesting, before looking more closely at the book's treatment of artificial intelligence, meat-eating and intelligence, and its conversation with Daniel Kahneman.

These are my reactions to the book and the way its arguments are presented. If you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear what worked for you.

CHAPTERS

00:00 The book and its big promise

00:21 Red flags—and my dad's warning

01:01 What I hoped to learn

01:41 The “world's smartest people” pitch

02:37 How the collection is structured

03:06 My verdict—and the few bright spots

04:09 Repetition instead of insight