THE 



POPULAR SCIENCE 

 MONTHLY. 



JUNE, 1872. 



ON THE AKTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF STUPIDITY 



IN SCHOOLS. 



IT is related of a learned judge, that he once praised a retiring wit- 

 ness in the following words : " You are entitled to great credit, sir. 

 You must have taken infinite pains with yourself. No man could nat- 

 urally be so stupid." 



We cite this well-worn anecdote because it contains, probably, the 

 earliest public recognition of the principle which the title of our article 

 is intended to convey. Existing in all ages of the world, in all condi- 

 tions of life, and described by a copious vocabulary in every language, 

 stupidity is something which it has never been possible to ignore or to 

 forget. The fact of its all-pervading presence, its vitality in the most 

 different climates and scenes, has tended to convince mankind of the 

 necessity of an evil which they have never failed to perceive ; and 

 which has served, from time immemorial, as a subject for the lamenta- 

 tion of the wise, and a basis for the calculations of the designing. The 

 lessons of proverbial wisdom, the results of hasty generalization, and 

 the daily experiences of life, all point out, or seem to point out, that 

 stupidity is inseparable from the existence of the human race ; and 

 that it must appear, not in every individual, but in many individuals 

 of every community. It follows that the persons in whom the phe- 

 nomenon is most conspicuously manifested are regarded with some- 

 thing of the compassion which attaches to physical infirmity; and 

 enjoy, in a certain degree, the power of blundering, with the privilege 

 of being exempt from punishment. 



We have long entertained a conviction that this passive acqui- 

 escence in stupidity, as an ultimate fact of human nature, and this con- 

 fident expectation of its unmitigated recurrence in each succeeding 

 generation, are founded upon errors of considerable practical impor- 

 tance. By directing attention to causes that are remote, they induce 

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