The Age Of Homo Idioticus – Book Review
"Homo Idioticus: Why We Are Stupid and What to Do About It," by Cezary Pietrasik
By Jan Servaes
Humans are remarkable creatures. We’ve mastered flying, we’re living longer and longer, we’ve cracked the genetic code and DNA, developed quantum mechanics, ethics, and democracy, we’ve been to the moon, and yet, despite these unparalleled achievements, we can still be… quite stupid, argues Polish-born Cezary Pietrasik.
We may no longer be ‘Homo sapiens’—the “wise man.” Nor are we ‘Homo economicus’, the supposedly rational actor in classical economics. It’s a measurable, observable trend known as the Negative Flynn Effect: a documented decline in IQ scores in developed countries over the past few decades. We are increasingly becoming ‘Homo idioticus’—a being defined not by wisdom or logic, but by emotional impulses, misinformation, and intellectual inertia.
The author, Cezary Pietrasik, is an economist by training and co-owner of Synerise, the AI company for predicting human behavior. Cezary graduated from LSE (London), SGH (Warsaw), and WU (Vienna). Passionate about social systems, he has researched structures ranging from economies to institutions in each of the seven countries he has lived in and the more than 80 he has visited. He was the founder and CEO of Healthdom, a preventive medicine company in San Francisco. He worked at McKinsey, advised technology, media, and telecom clients at JPMorgan, and was a private equity investor at Warburg Pincus in London. He was chairman of the Butterfly Effect Foundation, which helps children from disadvantaged and rural areas, and a member of the Future Leaders initiative for young directors in private equity in the UK. In his spare time, he enjoys swimming and horseback riding.
People are stupid!?
Pietrasik defines “stupidity” as “a relatively broad term encompassing irrational behavior that, given the available data, knowledge, and circumstances, produces suboptimal results for people. So, stupid can mean anything from irrational to illogical; from uneducated to unnecessarily aggressive; from primitive or backward to overconfident to wasteful” (p. 8).
In the book, he systematically describes this “paradox of human intelligence and irrationality.” He examines the roots of this idiocy, from biology to societal norms and systemic flaws, and uses vivid historical and modern examples to illustrate these follies. He tackles this paradox with a mix of humor, hard data, and storytelling that makes complex topics both digestible and engaging.
The three central questions, which comprise equal parts of the book, are:
• How have societal, political, technological, and economic factors led to our irrational behavior and, moreover, perpetuated it?
• Why does a combination of deep-seated biological, psychological, sociological, and institutional factors limit our cognitive capacity and lead to suboptimal decision-making?
• What can we do about this?: Are there practical, feasible strategies to promote smarter decision-making, both at the individual and societal levels, that can save humanity from its own self-destruction?
These examples come primarily from the countries where he has lived for extended periods (the US, the UK, and Poland). He admits that he has not “lived in Asia or Africa, and my knowledge of those cultures is limited. … In any case, if we can point to so much stupidity in relatively well-organized, wealthy, developed, and apparently well-functioning states, then the outlook for the rest of the world looks bleak” (p. 9).
Some numerical examples
• Our DNA is 99% the same as that of chimpanzees and bonobos, 98% of gorillas and pigs, and 65% of chickens;
• Nearly 40% of the world’s population has not finished high school;
• IQ in developed countries has been declining since 1995;
• 40% of Americans reject the theory of evolution;
• 86% of American teenagers cannot distinguish between facts and opinions;
• 10% of Americans use their phones during sex;
• 10% of Americans do not believe the climate is changing, 15% doubt it.
Using more examples, ranging from military blunders to societal norms, “Homo idioticus” criticizes our susceptibility to misinformation and poor judgment.
The book explores why irrational behavior is so widespread—and connects it to everything from evolutionary biology and societal structures to technology addiction and media manipulation. From interesting statistics to hilarious anecdotes, Pietrasik keeps you captivated and challenges you to keep thinking critically.
How? And Why?
The first part successively maps out six forms of stupidity: individual, societal, political, technological, economic, and “beautiful” stupidity.
The second part searches for explanations in biology, psychology, sociology, and institutions.
From the Flynn Effect to its Demise?
In the 1980s, New Zealand intelligence researcher James R. Flynn observed a steady rise in IQ scores worldwide throughout the 20th century. This became known as the Flynn Effect and was initially interpreted as evidence that humanity was getting smarter—possibly thanks to better nutrition, education, and healthcare.
But in the 1990s, the trend reversed.
The first major alarming finding came from Norway. Through compulsory military service, the country had built up a vast database of cognitive tests—containing data from more than 730,000 young men from 1962 to the present. The results were striking: IQ scores peaked in people born around 1975 and have been declining ever since. The average decline is about 7 points per generation.
Flynn himself later confirmed similar trends in the United Kingdom, where teenagers in the 2000s achieved lower scores than teenagers in the 1980s. And it wasn’t just a fluke—researchers worldwide observed the same pattern in developed countries.
Why are we losing our edge?
One prominent theory is that the decline isn’t genetic, but environmental—a reflection of how modern life shapes our brains. Today’s children grow up in a world of screens, scrolling, and superficial content. Quick dopamine hits from social media and 30-second videos have replaced deep reading and problem-solving.
Education systems, under pressure to meet standardized criteria, often “study for the test” instead of encouraging independent thinking.
Even daily digital distractions have an impact: studies suggest that simply checking your phone or email can temporarily lower IQ by as much as 10 points. If that’s the cognitive cost of a “hit,” what are the costs of a life online?
We’ve also lost the traditional filters for intellectual quality. Before social media, books and journalism were rigorously edited. Now, content floods our feeds without any form of control. As a result, many people are absorbing the thoughts not of experts or teachers, but of influencers, bloggers, and pseudo-celebrities—some of whom haven’t even graduated from high school.
The Hidden Epidemic: Functional Illiteracy
Perhaps even more alarming is the rise of functional illiteracy—the inability to perform basic reading and arithmetic tasks necessary for daily life.
In the UK, for example, 1 in 10 people couldn’t find the best deal between a 10% discount and a £30 discount on a £250 television (the latter saving more money).
In the EU, up to 40% of adults in countries like Romania and Portugal are considered functionally illiterate. Even in high-performing Sweden, that figure still sits at 8%.
The US paints a similarly bleak picture. Approximately 45 million Americans read below a fifth-grade level. And in 2018, a Pew Research study found that only 26% of Americans could distinguish fact from opinion in written text. Among 15-year-olds worldwide, that percentage drops to just 14%.
This isn’t just about failing schools or lazy students. It’s about a culture where intellectual laziness is not only tolerated but increasingly rewarded. When celebrity trumps expertise, when emotional outrage outweighs rational discourse, and when the loudest voice trumps the most informed—what hope is there for cognitive resilience?
So… declining IQs, widespread functional illiteracy, declining media literacy, and a cultural environment where critical thinking is a niche skill, not the norm. Is there still hope in the digital age?
There is still hope!
What truly sets this book apart is the hopeful tone of the third section. Rather than simply diagnosing the problem, it sometimes offers clever, practical ways to combat our own cognitive blind spots—both as individuals and as a society.
Pietrasik argues that we urgently need to rethink our cultural, educational, and digital environments. Do we want future generations raised on TikTok algorithms and celebrity gossip, or on reason, science, and creativity?
We need to refocus on education: “In the long run, education is a panacea for almost all our problems! Both the quality and quantity of education in today’s world are woefully inadequate” (p. 247).
Pietrasik believes that the quality of education can be improved with artificial intelligence (AI) and the cultivation of critical thinking. But that requires a different approach and mindset — “As we know, most countries are institutionally integrated interested in keeping their populations stupid, manipulable, and susceptible to propaganda” (p. 256).
The decline isn’t inevitable, he argues, but reversing it requires awareness, effort, and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. We must stop celebrating ignorance and instead embrace our intellect, Pietrasik believes.
“Homo Idioticus is a sharp, witty, and profound look at one of humanity’s most puzzling contradictions: how we can be simultaneously brilliant and breathtakingly foolish,” he concludes. The book is therefore recommended for anyone curious about human behavior and committed to making better decisions in an increasingly irrational world.
A Cross-Disciplinary Scientific Study of Human Behavior
For those who want to delve deeper and more comprehensively into this issue, we highly recommend Robert Sapolsky’s 2018 book, “Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst.”
Robert Morris Sapolsky is the John A. & Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor at Stanford University, specializing in biology, neurology, and neurosurgery. He trained at The Rockefeller University and Harvard University. His research focuses on neuroendocrinology, particularly with regard to stress. It describes how various biological processes influence human behavior, at scales ranging from less than a second before an action to thousands of years before.
A review in The Guardian called ‘Behave’ “a marvelous synthesis of scientific domains.” A review in the Minnesota Star Tribune considers ‘Behave’ Sapolsky’s magnum opus and “a stunning achievement and an invaluable addition to the canon of scientific literature.”
In the epilogue to his book, Sapolsky writes: “If you had to sum up this book in a single sentence, it would be: ‘It’s complicated.’ Nothing seems to cause anything; instead, everything merely modulates something else. … Fixing one thing often ruins ten others, because the law of unintended consequences reigns. … You don’t have to choose between being scientific and being compassionate” (pp. 674-5).
In Short
With historical examples, research-driven insights, and a thoughtful multidisciplinary approach, both ‘Homo Idioticus’ and ‘Behave’ offer a profound exploration of how humans can be their own worst enemies—and how we, both individually and collectively, can fight back. Must-reads for anyone interested in a better future for ourselves and for future generations.
References:
Cezary Pietrasik
Homo Idioticus. Why We Are Stupid and What to Do About It.
Belvedere Media, San Francisco
2025, 327 pp.
ISBN: 979-8-9924108-1-5
Jan Servaes
Jan Servaes was UNESCO-Chair in Communication for Sustainable Social Change at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He taught 'international communication' in Australia, Belgium, China, Hong Kong, the US, Netherlands and Thailand, in addition to short-term projects at about 120 universities in 55 countries. He is editor of the 2020 'Handbook on Communication for Development and Social Change', and 'SDG18. Communication for All' (2 volumes, 2023).
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