March 14, 2025

The 7 types of stupidity: the human flaws more important than brainpower

How biases, systems, overthinking, ego and ignorance ruin your ability to think

Show Notes

What if the greatest barrier to your success isn't what you don't know, but what you think you know that simply isn't so?

This episode explores the subtle architecture of stupidity – not as a personal failing, but as a series of distinct patterns that emerge in all human thinking.

We'll journey through seven varieties, from the straightforward lack of cognitive ability to the more insidious systemic stupidity that quietly infects organizations and societies.

You'll discover how the most brilliant minds often fall prey to overthinking stupidity, rejecting elegant solutions in favor of complex ones.

We'll examine how groups collectively generate stupidity that no individual would create alone, and how our identities and egos become entangled with ideas, making us defend positions that no longer serve us or reflect reality.

Learnings:

Build decision-making systems that protect against collective cognitive blindspots
Identify which stupidity patterns you are prone to.
Develop your intellectual honesty muscle using "What would convince me I'm wrong?"

Join us in reimagining how we think about thinking – because understanding stupidity might be the most intelligent thing we can do.

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