Actual stupidity rated
What is stupidity, exactly? Researchers compiled a list of 180 stories of people acting stupidly, then asked actors to read them out. The participants then rated the stupidity involved in the story from 1 to 10 and explained why the action was stupid. Their findings were published in Real Clear Science: "The first situation in which people call an action stupid is when the actor takes high risks while lacking the necessary skills to perform the risky action. A typical story for this is when burglars wanted to steal cell phones, but instead stole GPS navigation devices. They didn't switch them off so the police were able to track them easily. We named this category 'Confident ignorance'. The second cluster were cases of 'Absentmindedness - Lack of practicality' ... Typically when someone inflates more air in the car tyres than allowed. Here the person either forgot to pay attention or he or she doesn't know something essential about tyre inflation. The third category is 'Lack of control'. Cases here are thought to be the result of obsessive, compulsive or addictive behaviour. For example, one described a person who cancelled a meeting with a friend to instead continue playing video games at home."
An answer for everything
This from Andy McClure in the United States, @mcclureandy:
I'm terrified of Muslims. I don't want sharia law in America.
