Story of Stupidity: A History of Western Idiocy from the Days of Greece to the Present

by James F. Welles

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0961772913
• ISBN13: 9780961772918
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Mount Pleasant Pr
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.8" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

What does getting arrested have to do with writing again?

Do we know if Mr. Welles is guilty? If he is, what does someone's sexual conduct, illegal or not have to do with whether the book they wrote is any good or not? Is it a sex therapy or legal advice guidebook? Why is this even a matter of discussion in a book review? Are we going to discuss Noam Chomsky's bowel movements next in reference to his new book?

great book, but the author was arrested for being stupid ;)

According to the news tonight James F. Welles, the author of "Story of Stupidity: A History of Western Idiocy from the Days of Greece to the Present", was arrested for trying to solicit sex from a undercover cop posing as a 15 year old on the internet.James F. Welles is the perfect person to teach stupidity ;)

a logical basis for hope...

Dr. Welles has provided us with a fresh way of looking at human history that isolates otherwise inexplicable dimensions of human behavior as understandably stupid. Over and over, with carefully documented case study after case study, Dr. Welles presses relentlessly through the ages with heart-breakingly similar diagnoses--human stupidity. The conclusion becomes undeniable and inescapable--We have met the stupidity, and it is us.This conclusion is not allowed, however, to become a basis for nihilistic despair. Once we are alert to the fact that stupidity is rampantly loose among us, we *can* take steps to minimize its effects and even seek ways of doing something 'smart' for a nice change. Once we notice the time-worn patterns of typically-stupid behavior, we are equipped to take informed counter-measures. Herein lies the logical basis of hope--We may try very hard to avoid being stupid. And there are many ways that we can pursue this intention to become smarter.Dr. Welles defuses the otherwise pessimistic message with kindness and wit. His droll humor is sprinkled lightly throughout the book and it reads easily despite the weight of the topic and the careful documentation provided. It is a scholarly work that deserves a close and careful reading, but one is left with a confidence that if more people and policy makers become aware of Dr. Welles's bemused view of the world, that stupidity will diminish in time. One may certainly hope..The fact that Dr. Welles has fallen victim to his own stupidity is no reason to become less alert about it...

Equals reading a 500-book library

Welles amalgamates the choicest bits of thinking from hundreds of the brightest brains of the West into one coherent book. Whenever I read a work, usually I can sense the mental limits of the writer already after a few pages. Of the many thousand book I read in my life, Welles' is the only one where I simply couldn't sense his limits. One wonders, does Welles have an unlimited IQ?I wouldn't say that the History of Stupidity equals a university curriculum in philosophy because never attended the latter, but after quoting it people always inquire if philosophy was my major. The examples of illogism Welles so masterfully drags into spotlight turn out to be abuses of power for a financial gain repeatedly. This and the fact that the book cheerfully shreds just about any "ism" into pieces (even the ancient Greek philosophers) is probably the main reason why the History of Stupidity isn't hailed as the New Holy Grail in thinking. Read it nevertheless; if you don't get offended, you'll learn as much from it as from a whole library.

the history of Western civilization within a cool context

A crash course in the most significant events of Western civilization judged by the context of stupidity (i.e., attempting short-term goals at the expense of being able to succeed at long-term ones). An entire book chock full of concluding paragraphs from a vast array of the most amusing and intuitive historical essays. The only fault I might add is that while it's very intuitive, it largely fulfills and is tailored towards supporting a certain mechanism of perception. Mind, I completely agree with that mindset of perception, but I can't say the book's long lists of conclusions are justified by the materials offered. It's a book to whet the appetites of laymen, to be exposed to a way of judging and start their own avenues of inquiry. It wraps this way of judging experiences and events that have past around the tapestry of real events, significant ones, but ultimately it's not about Western history. It's about exploring the schema of stupidity (for the author's lack of a better word). As much as I relish reading it, as a philosophy it can give you the tools to judge the choices people have made but it remains a bit light in their application towards present decisions.