Define "stupid"

An article in yesterday's paper was about a study that set out to define "stupid." ("How to act less stupid, according to psychologists" Washington Post, October 19, 2105) Three types were indentified:

Confident ignorance "when a person's self-perceived ability to do something far outweighs that person's actual ability to do it, and it's associated with the highest level of stupidity.:

Lack of control "when someone does something because they have, on some level, lost their ability to do otherwise"

Absentmindedness — lack of practicality "scenario, in which someone does something that's clearly irrational, but for a reason that could be one of two things: they either weren't paying attention or simply weren't aware of something."

I've written about stupidity before:

Stupid is not my favorite word. It sounds mean and harsh and ugly. But after reading that according to Newsweek that 25% of employees visit porn sites from work, and that the adult video industry claims hits on porn sites are highest during the work day*, it was truly the only term that seems to fit this sort of human behavior. I don't have any overwhelming objections to pornography per se. But perusing it at work? That's stupid.

I use stupid under fairly constrained conditions. To me, a stupid act has a degree of willfulness about it and is serious. Making an error once is ignorance; making the same mistake multiple times is stupidity. Unfortunately, I see stupid acts and beliefs related to technology in schools all the time.

And listed seven stupid mistakes teachers make with technology. Maybe it is time to revisit them. See the original post for a full description.

1. Not backing up data. (or storing it in the cloud automatically)
2. Treating a school computer like a home computer.
3. Not supervising computer-using students.
4. Thinking online communication is ever private. (Especially anything communicated in social networks.)
5. Believing that one's teaching style need not change to take full advantage of technology.
6. Ignoring the intrinsic interest of tech use in today's kids. Kids like technology. (And the access to information of personal interest it provides.)
7. Thinking technology will go away in schools.

Any to add from this 2008 list?

Oh, not to be too harsh on teachers, I also recognize Seven Brilliant Things Teachers Do With Technology.