Every person, in their own way, marvels at the stupidity of other people, organizations, politics, laws, policies, rules, traditions, customs, processes, products, services, etc. It would not be human to do otherwise. Our brains are wired to think critically, but that is often ineffective due to deeply embedded ideologies. Nevertheless, what emerges is a heartfelt assessment of what is stupid. And there is lots of stupid.
There is such a great variety of stupidity that it surely is infinite. The infinity symbol was invented in 1655 by an English mathematician named John Wallis. Besides mathematics, the infinity symbol is used in physics (e.g., space, time, dimensions), and metaphysics (that which is beyond sensory perception; e.g., theology, thoughts).
But the infinity symbol is not used in social sciences (e.g., anthropology, political science, business, economics, sociology, etc.) and humanities (e.g., history, law, philosophy, religion and spirituality, the arts, etc.). It should be, because it applies there as well, and that includes business for two reasons:
- Unique errors are endless
- Endless repetition of the same errors
Both are the result of the human condition which is in large part controlled by archaic preconceptions, cognitive biases, illogical thinking, beliefs (both tangible and metaphysical), and emotions.
Business is a confection of the social sciences and humanities, and not always the best of both. True, business overall manages to muddle its way forward, providing varied goods and services whether needed or not, in pursuit of pecuniary gain. But business is well known for making unique mistakes and repeat mistakes, often due to poor leadership and management practice, and for building on the mistakes that have been made in allied areas such as economics and law. As the saying goes, “You can’t cure stupid.”
Given these conditions, what can one do to help manage, regulate, or reduce the infinitude of stupidity? What can better connect people to the material world and thus ameliorate the resource-consuming mistakes produced by archaic preconceptions, cognitive biases, illogical thinking, beliefs, emotions, and the mistakes made in earlier times?
You can’t cure stupid, but kaizen is as close to a cure as you can get!