In 1976, Carlo M. Cipolla, a Professor of economic history at the University of California, Berkeley published an essay outlining the fundamental laws of a force he perceived as humanity’s greatest existential threat: Stupidity. Stupid people, he explained, share some identifying traits: they - are abundant - are irrational - cause problems for others without apparent benefit to themselves, thereby lowering society’s total well-being. There are no defences against stupidity, he argued. He died in 2000. According to Professor Carlo, the only way a society can avoid being crushed by the burden of its...