"An illustrated hodgepodge of ruminations, anecdotes, aphorisms, and esoterica, the book attacks its subject obliquely, spinning a theory of stupidity while cataloging its sightings."-New York Times
"[A] weirdly wonderful compilation . . ."-The Observer
Matthijs van Boxsel believes that no one is intelligent enough to understand the depths of their own stupidity. In The Encyclopædia of Stupidity, he shows how stupidity is manifested in all areas, in everyone, at all times.
In short sections with titles such as "The Blunderclub," "Fools in Hell," "Genealogy of Idiots," and "The Aesthetics of the Empty Gesture," illustrated with many unusual and comical images, stupidity is analyzed within many aspects of culture, including fairy-tales, cartoons, triumphal arches, garden architecture, baroque ceilings, jokes, flimsy excuses, and science fiction. The author reviews mythic fools such as Cyclops and King Midas, cities such as Gotham, archetypes such as the dumb blonde and traditionally stupid animals, notably the goose, the donkey and the headless chicken. The author does more than assemble a menagerie of blunders, however, for he also fathoms the logic of this looking-glass world, examining the boundaries of comprehension and asking where intelligence begins and ends.
In this witty and erudite book, van Boxsel argues that stupidity is a prerequisite for intelligence, that mistakes stimulate progress and that failure is the basis for success. Along the way, he shows how our culture is the result of a series of failed attempts to understand our own stupidity. Stupidity, he claims, is the foundation of our civilization.
Matthijs van Boxsel has been researching, writing and lecturing on stupidity for more than 20 years. He lives in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
