The "stupid" masses

Robin Hanson (hanson@hss.caltech.edu)
Thu, 26 Dec 1996 15:20:57 -0800 (PST)


James Rogers writes:
>A lot of actions that people have deemed to be the "stupidity of the masses"
>are usually stupid only in the larger context. If you evaluate the
>individual decision of the individual person in the masses, the majority of
>people make an intelligent decision most of the time.

I agree with James. When you see behavior you don't understand,
you're first reaction shouldn't be to assume stupidity -- it is more
likely that your understanding of the social context is lacking.

Robin D. Hanson hanson@hss.caltech.edu http://hss.caltech.edu/~hanson/