stupidity

Stupidity
$20.00
This book is much better than any explanation can convey. The topic itself, STUPIDITY, defies any subtitle that could limit this consideration to any particular time and place, but the handling which it receives from Avital Ronell contains all the elements necessary to illustrate how thoroughly modern and "unparalleled disruption of meaning extends well into the twentysomething century." (p. 148). I might have been paying close attention because this was near the end of a paragraph on writers who "fortifying philosophical reflection with pornographic poses, will never be forgiven for the way they introduced the unintelligible . . ." (p. 148). Published by the University of Illinois Press in 2002, STUPIDITY demonstrates that the intellectual foundation for a field of knowledge on this topic currently exists, and that most of its investigations are likely to exceed the level of fun that might be discovered in competing fields. If politics is considered one of those fields, how apt is it that the only page listed in the index of this book for Ronald Reagan directs the reader to the thought:

". . . that Ronald Reagan and subsequent replicants are now said to have had a personality, that you have to watch your weight, that they got away with it, . . ." (pp. 72-73) ?

The single page of Contents has short titles for an Introduction and four regular chapters, with a drawing and three italicized titles for deconstructive subsections: Kierkegaard Satellite, Wordsworth Satellite: "The Idiot Boy" and Kant Satellite: The Figure of the Ridiculous Philosopher; or, Why I Am So Popular. Notes on pages 313-351 often contain lengthy comments. The Introduction on pages 3-29 has 56 notes. Though a number of philosophers show up in this book, Nietzsche, one of my favorites, gets major credit right at the start. `While stupidity is "what is there," it cannot be simply located or evenly scored. Not since Nietzsche pulled the switch and got the powerful forces of alternative valences going.' (p. 3). `Raising it, he more or less forgets stupidity, like an umbrella.' (p. 4). Nietzsche can be quoted on "successfully posing as more stupid than one is--which in everyday life is often as desirable as an umbrella--is called enthusiasm." (p. 4, from BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL, section 288).

The index has numerous entries for Nietzsche, but did not direct readers to note 27 on page 323 in which Avital Ronell mentions her previous effort:

I have explored the logic and valuations of immunodeficiency in Nietzsche in "Queens of the Night," FINITUDE'S SCORE: ESSAYS FOR THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1994), 41-61.

A few philosophical themes appear more often than I expected, as you might guess from the first entry in the index:

Abraham, 211, 266; Derrida on, 351n; Kafka on, 13-14, 280, 287-294, 306-310; Kant on, 280, 284, 287, 297, 300, 302; Kierkegaard on, 280, 289, 349n; Lacan on, 351n; Spiegel on, 351n

The three notes on page 351 are all about Abraham. As one starts, "Take still another Abraham, one who stages a collusion . . ." to bring about Lacan's function of the superego.

There are 23 lines in the index for Friedrich von Schlegel, and his LUCINDE is a major topic between pages 132 and 166. There are eighteen lines in the index for Robert Musil, who is quoted at the beginning of chapter 2:

Is this lady stupid? (Ist diese Dame dumm?). . . But politeness as well as justice demand the concession that she is not absolutely and always stupid. -- Robert Musil, "On Stupidity" (p. 62).

First pictured in this book at an early stage:

If stupidity were that simple--if stupidity were that stupid--it would not have traded depths for the pits and acted as such a terror for Roland Barthes or Robert Musil or preschoolers. (The little ones receive their first interdictory instruction when told that they musn't call anyone "stupid"--the ur-curse, the renunciation of which primes socialization in this culture.) (p. 10).

Musil is listed in the index for seventeen topics, such as:

on intellectuals vs. women, 22, 53, 72, 76, 78, 79-81;

and Musil also appears on a page labeled Infotag: EXPOSITORY PROSE

"That Kant writes like a pig is stated repeatedly by Jean Paul, by Heine, by Nietzsche, by Musil, and by other beautiful writers, mostly ironists, but first of all by Kant himself: Kant's inability to write wounds and embarrasses the philosopher. . . . He couldn't help it, and it wasn't his fault. Philosophy cannot present itself directly; it is fragile, . . ." (p. 282).

The more you learn about this field, the more stupidity becomes a topic that is a lot of fun. It might even reach further than you think:

"At this point, rather suddenly, Dostoevsky makes an attempt to purify the air around idiocy, if only by clearing the way for stupidity and ordinariness. As it turns out, that way has already been cleared and its name is Gogol, who can be credited with having brought to the fore the inescapable power and range of sheer stupidity." (p. 217).

Stupidity
$20.99
This fabulous live album went to no.1 in the UK album charts in 1976, which is quite remarkable if you think back to that era. Glam and Progessive Rock had happened and disco & Punk/new wave were about to be huge. So it makes no sense that a rhythm & blues band album should get to no.1.

Listen to the album though and you begin to understand why Feelgood were so successful. Its a straightahead R&B album (in the old sense) with an un-schooled and English 'lads night out on the town' feel to it. Yes they certainly were influenced by Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry etc but they brought something new the material, and of course wrote some classics themselves. 'She Does It Right' remains my favourite original with Lee Brilleaux belting out the vocals and Wilko Johnson playing incendiary guitar. Of the covers I'd pick their version of 'Riot on Cell Block No. 9'. The atmosphere on this track captures the live feel brilliantly.

Another aspect of Dr Feelgoods success was the visual element. 30 years later its easy to forget the stage presence these guys had. Remember Wilko on tram-lines skating across the stage! Its a shame they didn't film any of these shows from 1975. You can catch film of them performing on the BBC Old Grey Whistle Test DVD, which is pretty good.

The CD runs to 47mins, has 15 tracks, with some interesting sleeve notes about the background to their success during the mid 70's.

The Encyclopedia of Stupidity
$29.00
Originally published in the Dutch language as De Encyclopedie van de Domheid in 1999, this revised and enlarged English edition (2003) provides a collection of short essays concerned with the follies of human behavior, rather than an alphanumeric dictionary of tabulated entries cataloguing acts of stupidity, as the title might suggest. Indeed, rather than citing the familiar and widely acclaimed retellings of the behavior of idiots and stupids, Van Boxsel treats the reader to a refreshingly new montage of the less frequently cited behavioral repertoire of select eccentrics, collectors and oddballs.


Self-reflexively, and true to his own thesis, the author's penchant for collecting the material collated in this volume, was perhaps less a result of his desire to present it in this way, than was it embarked upon in an attempt to perhaps overcome his [own] stupidity, if not its very intangibility. Although a large number of definitions and examples of stupidity are put forth throughout the books eight chapters, the reviewer was left unenlightened (though thoroughly entertained) with regards the formation of any new understanding of the evolutionary or cognitive mechanisms underlying human stupidity (seen as "not a failing, but a force." p.20). However, this in no way a failing of the book's intended purpose.


Occasionally using koans, paradoxes, jokes and catch phrases as examples, van Boxsel's writing was (at least in the earlier sections) reminiscent of D. Hofstadter's excellent use of dialogues in his Godel, Escher, Bach...., but in the Encyclopaedia of Stupidity there is little discussion or further contextualization following presentation of the examples given. This leaves further entertainment options for the reader, of course, but some may wish to be provided with more detail from the author's own point of view.


In part literary, part historical, philosophical, and large part art critical, van Boxsel's commentaries on his thoughts concerning stupidity and such considered acts, span ancient accounts (include the biblical and classical 'blind to faith' eras), through modern stupidity (where knowing too much of the wrong detail can cause the problem), to our own more post-modern forms of stupidity (our stupidity at work in what we do, not merely in what we think we are doing).


Superbly illustrated throughout, the text is perhaps poorly referenced for the reader wishing to further negotiate with the author's primary sources. An index and/or extended bibliography would also be welcome. But without wanting to give away too much here in review, van Boxsel will convince many that the true enemies of stupidity are satire and (yes, you've maybe guessed already), a good encyclopedia -- two forces which are becoming increasingly impotent in their ability to prevent our tending towards stupid behavior.

Dr. Tony Dickinson, McDonnell Center for Higher Brain Function
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis.

In Search of Stupidity: Over Twenty Years of High Tech Marketing Disasters, Second Edition
$24.99
This book, IMO, is written like a Porsche is built: fast, fun, and nimble. Though I picked it up because of its subject matter (computers, software), I also enjoyed it for a second reason: the quality of the writing.

Apparently, the author's career is not as a writer, but you'd never tell it from how well this book is written- humor, irony, and descriptiveness are wound artfully through most of his descriptions.

Take, for example, this passage, where he's discussing the marketing of the Ford Mustang vs. the Ford Falcon- to illustrate how IBM's mistakes with the PC Jr. shared some things in common with Ford's mistakes with the Falcon:

"Mustangs were fun, sexy, and desirable. Mustang owners were intelligent and cool people with a great sense of value, the type of folks you wished would invite you to a barbecue at their place. Of course, the Mustang, also wouldn't go very fast (though it looked like it could), got good gas mileage, and was very economical to run. This is because it was, underneath its alluring sheet metal, nothing more than a reskinned Ford Falcon. But by dint of good design, ... the Mustang became a car you could aspire to, whereas the Falcon was just a cheap set of wheels."

That's a lot more interesting to read, IMO, than most high-tech history books, or marketing manuals.

Yet, the author wraps in lots of value in those areas, as well. The book is filled with history, in a level of detail that only an insider (which he was) could know, and marketing insight, with a nuts-and-bolts examination that makes sense out of large & complicated industry situations.

I've really enjoyed reading, and dipping back into, this book. I almost never open up books after I've read them, but this one is an exception. I find myself keeping it around where I can get to it easily- and reading excerpts just for the fun of it. IMO, this guy's writing is great.

Perhaps that's why this book reminds me of a Porsche: it's valuable, it's well-designed, but better yet, you find yourself having fun while you're also getting someplace.