Being Stupid

Do we get stupid with age? Or is stupidity a natural and ever present phenomenon which occurs in all of us in varied proportions? Sometimes questions like this make me wonder, is being stupid good, bad or generally stupid? That’s actually a lot many questions to start a discussion on stupidity!

Before I take you forward on this stupefying journey, let us understand what exactly is stupidity or what actions can be termed stupid. As per some definitions stupidity is lack of intelligence or an act committed by someone lacking in intelligence. Being stupid is in itself both a categorization and a state of mind. But that’s not what I call as stupid. Being stupid is a sense of bliss where what you commit or be is simply unexplainable and a logical reasoning would spoil the party.

Sometimes, it so happens, we see someone special and go weak in the knees. A feeling of warmth spreads over and the mind takes a flight of dreams. The love which slowly starts budding always makes one wonder what would it be like to get a little more stupid with her once. You can’t explain such situations with logic as it would take away the fun of it and might invite flack from certain sections of the society.

It is often said that people stop seeing reason in love. Everything seems rosy and it’s autumn throughout the year. Even illogical ideas and ways make sense. There is a happy bliss look on their faces and even the boss screaming at them seems beautiful. These people may sound stupid but they aren’t. They are actually happy and very much in love.

Behaviour which most consider akin to stupidity is most commonly found in the professional sphere. People end up taking targets which are way beyond their teeth for various reasons. They might have been caught unawares in a honey trap (like a CEO calling the sales team for drinks, lauding their efforts, and then taking a public commitment of raised targets) or there is (not in much cases) a self need for doing something which no one has done before. These actions are most often termed stupid in hindsight but if the targets are achieved they become part of the folklore and more people get trapped.

Sometimes whilst involved in serious situations people end up committing acts which in all aspects are illogical and stupid. Once a lawyer, in the thick of argument asked a witness whether the stair-case which went down also came up. The unassuming witness was taken aback and so were all rest present in the court. In another instance an IT support person told me that the office LAN was now up and the network would reach me in 2 hrs. Dumb-founded I said ok and tried looking for another source of help.

Another such situation is while driving when people commit hara-kiri. They drive as if the road was their own and everyone else was trying to beat them. Especially young kids who feel their bikes as an extension of their body and do acts which to some may some amazing acrobatics but to all else as acts of stupidity.

There are people who even on small knick to their vehicles stop the entire traffic just to pick up a fight with others and if the other one is not so well built, to hit them too. One of my friends shouts profound obscenities at anyone who over-takes him while another shoos people away by saying she would tell her daddy. All these acts of stupidity were committed in tough professional situations.

A very important instance when people are said to commit stupidity is shopping. Especially women, when they reach a market or a mall, go berserk. I have seen women run amok when exposed to a big shopping complex. They buy things which might not even be required; for example shoes. Women love shoes like crazy. It seems to me all of them are actually in an unannounced race to own the maximum number of pairs. This is stupid but when you ask a woman and she would ridicule it and call you stupid instead.

Stupidity does not grow with age. It is a mental state in a particular scenario or situation. As in the above examples I have tried to explain, stupidity is not even related to a particular sex. It is omni-present.

There is nothing wrong with stupidity. It is completely normal to be stupid about something or somebody. Major problem is when you are perfect or project yourself to be one. Now that is what I call extremely stupid.

Stupidity comes to us naturally. All of us are stupid in our own little ways. For those whose stupidity is not digestible by a larger set of people are sometimes termed as eccentrics.

I have used the word stupid 29 times in this essay (now 30 times). People might call me stupid, in-fact I may be one. But the fact of the matter is, you read this stupidity. And by now even if don’t update the count of stupid here, you would mentally count it as 34.

Be Stupid……Love Life!!

PS – That’s 35 times J