The Sixth Law of Stupidity: A Biophysical Interpretation of Carlo Cipolla’s Stupidity Laws
Carlo Cipolla’s stupidity quadrant and his five laws of stupidity were proposed for the first time in 1976. Exposed in a humorous mood by the author, these concepts describe the interactions among human beings in terms of a semiquantitative model based on the gains and losses of the agents engaged i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Systems |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/9/3/57 |
| _version_ | 1797517105654923264 |
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| author | Ilaria Perissi Ugo Bardi |
| author_facet | Ilaria Perissi Ugo Bardi |
| author_sort | Ilaria Perissi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Carlo Cipolla’s stupidity quadrant and his five laws of stupidity were proposed for the first time in 1976. Exposed in a humorous mood by the author, these concepts describe the interactions among human beings in terms of a semiquantitative model based on the gains and losses of the agents engaged in a process. Here, we propose a new interpretation of Cipolla’s ideas in a biophysical framework, using the well known “predator–prey”, or “Lotka–Volterra”, model. We find that there is indeed a correspondence between Cipolla’s approach, based on economics and biophysical economics. We propose a “sixth law of stupidity”, additional to the five proposed by Cipolla, stating that “humans are the stupidest species in the whole ecosystem” because of their tendency of overexploiting natural resources. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:11:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fdd622f4d1074fad95a6d38d2175deb2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-8954 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:11:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Systems |
| spelling | doaj.art-fdd622f4d1074fad95a6d38d2175deb22023-11-22T15:29:42ZengMDPI AGSystems2079-89542021-07-01935710.3390/systems9030057The Sixth Law of Stupidity: A Biophysical Interpretation of Carlo Cipolla’s Stupidity LawsIlaria Perissi0Ugo Bardi1Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e la Tecnologia dei Materiali (INSTM), 50121 Florence, ItalyConsorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e la Tecnologia dei Materiali (INSTM), 50121 Florence, ItalyCarlo Cipolla’s stupidity quadrant and his five laws of stupidity were proposed for the first time in 1976. Exposed in a humorous mood by the author, these concepts describe the interactions among human beings in terms of a semiquantitative model based on the gains and losses of the agents engaged in a process. Here, we propose a new interpretation of Cipolla’s ideas in a biophysical framework, using the well known “predator–prey”, or “Lotka–Volterra”, model. We find that there is indeed a correspondence between Cipolla’s approach, based on economics and biophysical economics. We propose a “sixth law of stupidity”, additional to the five proposed by Cipolla, stating that “humans are the stupidest species in the whole ecosystem” because of their tendency of overexploiting natural resources.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/9/3/57stupidityLotka–VolterraCarlo Cipollaeconomic agentspredator–prey |
| spellingShingle | Ilaria Perissi Ugo Bardi The Sixth Law of Stupidity: A Biophysical Interpretation of Carlo Cipolla’s Stupidity Laws Systems stupidity Lotka–Volterra Carlo Cipolla economic agents predator–prey |
| title | The Sixth Law of Stupidity: A Biophysical Interpretation of Carlo Cipolla’s Stupidity Laws |
| title_full | The Sixth Law of Stupidity: A Biophysical Interpretation of Carlo Cipolla’s Stupidity Laws |
| title_fullStr | The Sixth Law of Stupidity: A Biophysical Interpretation of Carlo Cipolla’s Stupidity Laws |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Sixth Law of Stupidity: A Biophysical Interpretation of Carlo Cipolla’s Stupidity Laws |
| title_short | The Sixth Law of Stupidity: A Biophysical Interpretation of Carlo Cipolla’s Stupidity Laws |
| title_sort | sixth law of stupidity a biophysical interpretation of carlo cipolla s stupidity laws |
| topic | stupidity Lotka–Volterra Carlo Cipolla economic agents predator–prey |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/9/3/57 |
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