In our funny world, not only knowledge and wisdom have a repository, but there is also an encyclopedia of stupidity. Matthijs Van Boxsel’s comprehensive work was published in Hungarian in 2010, and one of his reviewers wrote about the author of this sizeable volume: the Dutch philosopher, who is in his fifties, has been making a living from writing about human stupidity since 1995. You do well to make a good profit, after all, the topic is limitless. Albert Einstein is credited with the opinion (but I also read that this is a mistake) that “Two things in the world are infinite: the universe and human stupidity. Although I’m not sure about the first one.” In any case, Jean-Francois Marmion refers to the world-famous scientist when he quotes the above two sentences on page 333 of his The Psychology of Stupidity. Faience has been living with us ever since the world began, we like it, we don’t like it, we have to accept it. There have always been, are, and will always be “those who have a peculiar passion for conclusions they have reached with their own minds.”
Just the proportions, that freaky measure. Which the ancient Greeks were already so delicate about. No temple has ever been built mighty, it has always been fitting that when an earthly mortal approaches it, it enters the sanctuary, embraces it, receives it, and does not overwhelm it with its dimensions. A few thousand years have passed since then, and we have developed a lot here in Europe. We live mostly in elegant democracies, but not for long, tenacious and persistent forces are at work to slowly forget all this. I read somewhere in a comment that popular rule cannot be without foolishness, without which order will be reduced to a stifling dictatorship. It is an interesting opinion, there is something in it, but we can already be happy, this is definitely over. There is no longer any question of discipline dominating, stupidity has moved forward, put itself in a winning position and takes it all.
There is, for example, that pretty little theatre in Paris, the Théatre de la Gaité. Jacques Offenbach once conducted and premiered the French composer’s opera Orpheus in the Underworld, or more precisely, its expanded version, on February 7, 1874. To put it as a cliché, much water has flowed down the Seine since then, and now it has been realized in the theatre with the powerful assistance of young men from Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea. In December, some woke activists called for a conference on how to make French immigration policy more effective. Professors, researchers and medical experts gave lectures on the topic, and according to reports, a left-wing youth organization also arranged for dozens of migrants to be invited. The pleasant location quickly became popular, the team stubbornly stayed, now they don’t move anymore, the number has swelled to 300 people, all of them are undocumented and declare themselves minors, of course. The youngsters sleep in the rehearsal rooms, revelling in the courtyard, washing, smoking weed, fighting and making noise, much to the delight of the people of the area. Gaité Lyrique is blockaded, there are no demonstrations, no performances, but there are hygiene and epidemiological problems, daily demonstrations against “racist and colonial” immigration policies, and soon there will be bankruptcy because there is no income. Yep, the theater doesn’t ask for help. Why? For humanitarian reasons. Local downtown residents can go to pray for a change for the better in the renovated Notre-Dame Cathedral, which is close by, just a short walk from the theatre.
Even if we beware of enlightened pumpkin heads, we have them every week. A quote from a news website: “Charles Darwin’s grave was vandalized in London on Monday by environmental activists. The incident took place in ancient Westminster Abbey, across from Parliament, the resting place of nineteenth-century British naturalist who developed the theory of evolution, where two members of Just Stop Oil, an environmental group fighting against fossil fuels, sprayed orange chalk powder on the tomb. “Stupid kids,” it might run out of my mouth if I wasn’t respectful. It wouldn’t be true, either, because it wasn’t two hot teenagers who were a little bit mischievous demanding attention, but two women, a 66-year-old and a 77-year-old pretty. Why they don’t have grandchildren instead of scattering yellow dust will never be known, only the reason we did: Darwin, the naturalist, “would be spinning in his grave if he knew that the world was in the midst of the sixth wave of extinction.”
I left my favorite subject to the end, which is as eminent as a donkey among sheep. /In vain, stupidity is a prison from which you never get out, you are not paid for good behavior, this is a life sentence/ The idea belongs to a German Green Prime Minister, and as such, somebody elected him to the office. Winfried Kretschmann argued the other day that education policy is steeped in outdated conservatism. The head of Baden-Württemberg presented a revolutionary proposal to the cabinet: there is no need to teach map reading, there is no need for spelling, and why a foreign language. It’s time to use artificial intelligence to tutor students in schools via smartphones. How careful this man is, he doesn’t rush into the house, he doesn’t say he goes down with the schools! However, AI can solve the task, so why bother the nebulo, it has enough problems with cognitive dissonance anyway.
I propose to the Prime Minister a situational exercise. Go to the Bavarian forests nicely with your smartphone, and if you accidentally fall into the stream, solve the situation yourself and find your way home. Our language is uniquely nuanced, and the Hungarian people are straightforward and outspoken, and in our country such people are said to be “so smart that even 12 oxen would not be able to think of their minds.” I am afraid that the German head of state is not alone; there are eminent leaders like him in Europe today.
Translated and edited by Kiss Gyöngyi
