“Admitting stupidity is a sign of strength – because it shows that you are brave enough to learn!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
So I came across this scientific paper which suggested that there is power to be found in stupidity.
This article seemed to fit within the vibe of what someone suggested on social media – “This weekend might very well be the last normal weekend for the next 100 years.” Though your opinion might vary, some believe we are truly entering an era of stupidity.
Eager to find some sort of upside to the downside, I eagerly read the article – and I discovered much more than I expected. Here’s what the paper suggests:
- the feeling of stupidity in scientific research isn’t a weakness – it’s a necessary and valuable state that indicates you’re pushing into genuinely unknown territory. As the author says, “If we don’t feel stupid it means we’re not trying.”
- research is fundamentally different from coursework because it requires confronting “absolute stupidity” – the vast realm of things we don’t yet know. Recognizing this infinite scope of unknowns is liberating because it permits us to “muddle through as best we can,” figuring things out as we go.
- being “productively stupid” means intentionally choosing to be ignorant by pursuing important questions that push us beyond current knowledge. This is different from relative stupidity (just being less prepared than peers) or working in areas that don’t match your talents.
- The scientific process thrives on this kind of stupidity – it allows researchers to “bumble along, getting it wrong time after time, and feel perfectly fine as long as we learn something each time.” This iterative process of learning through failure is essential for discovery.
- Embracing productive stupidity is crucial for making the transition from being a student (learning what others have discovered) to being a researcher (making your discoveries). Key point: “The more comfortable we become with being stupid, the deeper we will wade into the unknown and the more likely we are to make big discoveries.”
The core message is that feeling stupid isn’t a bug in scientific research – it’s a bonus feature! It’s the necessary state of mind for pushing beyond current knowledge boundaries and making genuine discoveries! It’s the ultimate aphrodisiac for chasing new knowledge!
Believing that I’m on to something and to fit with the modern times, I dare believe that there is innovation power to be found in stupidity!
Hear me out!
In the next decade, your organization’s strategic advantage might just come from embracing stupidity!
Yes, you heard that right. After 25 years of advising global organizations on future trends, I’m here to tell you that being “stupid” – in the right way –might become a critical competitive advantage.
Why is that? Think about it – the corporate world is obsessed with being smart. But maybe that is too big a goal – maybe we should spend more time focused on our collective stupidity to become smarter. Maybe by 2030, the organizations that thrive won’t be the ones with the highest collective IQ – they’ll be the ones that know how to harness the power of “strategic stupidity.”
Why is that? Because admitting stupidity permits us to do the things we need to do to move forward. It gives us:
- the courage to ask “dumb” questions
- the wisdom to approach complex problems with childlike simplicity
- the ability to temporarily “forget” industry constraints because ‘we just don’t know‘
- the freedom to propose “stupid” solutions that just might work
This makes me wonder – might we see the rise of the Professional Idiot?
This isn’t necessarily a dumb question. It might not be a stupid idea! It might be a matter of brilliance wrapped up in the cloak of stupidity!
Think about it – maybe we will see new C-suite positions like “Chief Ignorance Officer” and “Director of Stupid Questions.” Far fetched? Maybe not – because their role would be challenging existing institutional knowledge, identifying where the organization is stupid, and as a result, helping the organization to fill in important knowledge gaps. In that way, they would be promoting the idea of “productive stupidity” as a key cornerstone to chasing smart ideas.
Here’s another stupid idea -why not actively create a “Stupidity Lab” – dedicated spaces where teams are encouraged to be deliberately “dumb!”
Why? What we can learn from the science of stupidity is that playing dumb often leads to breakthrough innovations that their “smart” competitors often miss. Science suggests that we activate different neural pathways when we are stupid compared to when we’re trying to be smart.
So that might imply we should run some “Stupid Hours” – designated times when teams are required to think like beginners, ignorant of all industry “rules.” This is the game plan – we would:
- create “Designated Dummy Sessions” – Weekly meetings where only “stupid” ideas are allowed
- implement “Ignorance Incentives” – Reward systems for questions that challenge basic assumptions
- develop “Professional Idiot Protocols” – Frameworks for approaching problems with deliberate naiveté
- build “Stupidity Metrics” – Ways to measure and reward valuable “dumb” thinking
I might be on to something, and so here is a bold prediction – by 2030, the ability to be strategically stupid will be more valuable than traditional intelligence – particularly as we get the emergence of a lot of artificial intelligence that might help us to become even more stupid that we are already! Organizations that can’t embrace their inner idiot will find themselves disrupted by competitors who can!
What does all of this mean? My tagline has long been that the “future belongs to those who are fast?”
Maybe I should rephrase it – “the future belongs to those brave enough to be stupid!”
After all, in a world where AI handles the “smart” stuff, human stupidity – with its beautiful capacity for naive questioning, simple thinking, and rule-breaking innovation – becomes our greatest asset!
Remember: In the age of artificial intelligence, natural stupidity might be your greatest competitive advantage!
Futurist Jim Carroll has done some stupid things throughout his career.