HOMO IDIOTICUS

Pietrasik presents a guide to understanding historical and current illogical behavior in its many forms.

Humankind’s idiotic behavior is wide-ranging and persistent: In the 16th century, the Aztecs made wheeled children’s toys but never thought of using the wheel as a means of transportation. Chinese leader Mao Zedong’s 1958 campaign to exterminate sparrows caused the bird’s prey, such as locusts, to proliferate. The locusts ate up the crops, which led to a countrywide famine for the human population. In the United States, there are now more than 120 guns for every 100 people despite an unrelenting death toll. Per the author, our stupidity is, in part, biological—the brain itself is to blame. The amygdala, which enables split-second decisions, was useful during dangerous eras when humans lived as hunter/gatherers, but in today’s world, it merely makes us vulnerable to flashy advertising campaigns and savvy politicians. Testosterone is another problem; not coincidentally, Pietrasik asserts, “It is men in their 20s who typically create the most trouble in the world.” Psychological factors, such as different types of biases, sociological urges to conform, and faith in entrenched institutions (the military, religions, and government) also contribute to our ongoing idiocy, according to the author. To soften his insulting thesis, Pietrasik uses a light, entertaining tone and relies heavily on humor; for example, he explains that some current state laws preventing non-procreational sex were made by embarrassed and “not-that-well-informed dudes from the 19th century.” The author also indicts himself. Relaying the story of Japanese tourists who drove their rental car into Australia’s Moreton Bay because they were following GPS directions, Pietrasik states, “We are all brothers and sisters in stupidity.” The book is tidily divided into sections explaining how we are idiots, why we are idiots, and, more positively, a conclusion providing mitigating measures, such as specific types of education. The pictures in the book add interest (portraying subjects as diverse as a woman with bound feet and Donald Trump’s signature on a stimulus check), and the many charts and graphs support and amplify the author’s observations.

Witty and well-designed, this book both educates and entertains.