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The basic laws of human stupidity / Carlo M. Cipolla ; foreword by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Original language: Italian Publisher: New York : Doubleday, [2021]Description: xiii, 81 pages : illustrations ; 17 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780385546478
  • 0385546475
Uniform titles:
  • Leggi fondamentali della stupidità umana. English.
Subject(s):
Contents:
The first basic law -- The second basic law -- A technical interlude -- The third (and golden) basic law -- Frequency distribution -- Stupidity and power -- The power of stupidity -- The fourth basic law -- Macro analysis and the fifth basic law.
Summary: "An economist explores the five laws that confirm our worst fears: stupid people can and do rule the world"-- Provided by publisher.Summary: Throughout history, a powerful force has hindered the growth of human welfare and happiness: human stupidity. Cipolla, a professor of economic history, seeks to help you detect and neutralize its threat. His serious yet humorous remarks help readers become better equipped to confront political realities, unreasonable colleagues, or your next dinner with your in-laws. -- adapted from back cover
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 857.92 C577 Available 33111010500771
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"A masterly book" --Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan
"A classic" --Simon Kuper, Financial Times

An economist explains five laws that confirm our worst fears: stupid people can and do rule the world

Throughout history, a powerful force has hindered the growth of human welfare and happiness. It is more powerful than the Mafia or the military. It has global catastrophic effects and can be found anywhere from the world's most powerful boardrooms to your local bar.

It is human stupidity.

Carlo M. Cipolla, noted professor of economic history at the UC Berkeley, created this vitally important book in order to detect and neutralize its threat. Both hilarious and dead serious, it will leave you better equipped to confront political realities, unreasonable colleagues, or your next dinner with your in-laws.

The Laws:

1. Everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals among us.
2. The probability that a certain person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
3. A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person while deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses themselves.
4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals.
5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.

"Doubleday.com 4/2021"--Page 4 of cover.

"Originally published in Italian ... by Società editrice il Mulino, Bologna, in 1988 ... Originally published in English as The basic laws of human stupidity by Società editrice il Mulino, Bologna, in 2011, and subsequently in Great Britain by WH Allen, an imprint of Ebury Publishing, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd., London, in 2019."--Title page verso.

The first basic law -- The second basic law -- A technical interlude -- The third (and golden) basic law -- Frequency distribution -- Stupidity and power -- The power of stupidity -- The fourth basic law -- Macro analysis and the fifth basic law.

"An economist explores the five laws that confirm our worst fears: stupid people can and do rule the world"-- Provided by publisher.

Throughout history, a powerful force has hindered the growth of human welfare and happiness: human stupidity. Cipolla, a professor of economic history, seeks to help you detect and neutralize its threat. His serious yet humorous remarks help readers become better equipped to confront political realities, unreasonable colleagues, or your next dinner with your in-laws. -- adapted from back cover

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