Is there really a difference? I feel like if you don’t know something, that kind of makes you stupid, right? If you don’t know historical facts or mathematics—at least the harder stuff, like algebra or calculus—or if you don’t know about advanced political topics, then you’re kind of a stupid person, not just ‘ignorant.’

  • naught101@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    Ignorance is not knowing things (e.g. facts).

    Stupidity is not being about to think about things (e.g. lacking reason, being unable to make a good decision even when given all the useful information).

    Making a bad decision out of ignorance isn’t necessarily stupid. Making a bad decision despite knowing the consequences is.

  • wraekscadu@vargar.org
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    5 hours ago

    Ignorance: Lack of information. Stupidity: Inadequate usage of logical reasoning to seek and process information.

    That’s how I understand it

  • AskewLord@piefed.social
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    4 hours ago

    There are different kinds of stupidity and ignorance.

    And yes, there are lots of differences. Often the stupid person is the person who expects other people to not be ignorant of what they know, and makes other people feel stupid, and thus destroys any chance anyone has of learning from each other.

    Lots of stupid people, can’t admit their ignorance. And lots of people can’t admit they made a mistake, and thus remain ignorant.

  • jadesom222@aussie.zone
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    6 hours ago

    Ignorance can be remedied through education. Stupidity, not so much…

    That said, most people could be smarter if they were taught to think, but thinking ability is not the same as knowing facts.

  • DigDoug@lemmy.world
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    7 hours ago

    Ignorance is not knowing things.

    Stupidity is refusing to learn things.

      • AskewLord@piefed.social
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        4 hours ago

        inability to learn is a choice.

        they do not want to make the effort.

        whether or not that effort is worthwhile, however, is the question.

        I am learning Russian. lots of people I met recently, love to tell me how stupid it is because it’s not a ‘useful’ thing to learn.

        • Deconceptualist@leminal.space
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          43 minutes ago

          inability to learn is a choice.

          Not always. Someone close to me has issues with executive dysfunction and short term memory as a result of brain trauma. She really struggles with algebra and she’ll almost certainly never learn calculus even if she wanted to.

          lots of people I met recently, love to tell me how stupid it is because it’s not a ‘useful’ thing to learn.

          That’s a different issue entirely. If they think they’re experts at judging what’s useful, that may be the Dunning-Kruger effect.

  • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    Ignorance characterizes knowledge; stupidity characterizes behavior.

    You can be ignorant without being stupid and stupid without being ignorant, but they tend to be correlated because avoiding knowledge is stupid behavior.

  • Triumph@fedia.io
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    6 hours ago

    Ignorance is an overlapping circle with stupidity. If you are ignorant about something, you do not possess knowledge of it. Perhaps you’ve not been exposed to the information yet, or aren’t old enough to comprehend it. In such cases, you may be ignorant but not stupid.

    If you are stupid, you have failed to acquire knowledge that you should have, given your circumstances, or you come to incorrect conclusions based on the correct knowledge you have acquired. In the former case, you are both stupid and ignorant; in the latter, only stupid.

    • Photonic@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      I feel most of the comments try to separate these two too much too. I mean yes, in the most basic form ignoro means to not know. Which seems innocuous enough in its elf, but a lot of ignorant people will often not admit (be it to themselves or others) that they’re ignorant. And I don’t know whether that’s stubbornness, stupidity, pride or whatever.

      Now we’re seeing more and more people who feel cool and tough about themselves because of their ignorance.

      People, like AI , can state bullshit with such conviction it may even fool other ignorant and stupid people. Meanwhile people actually might have a good idea or something to say get laughed at. Providing back up for your statements with evidence Is useless in this post-truth

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    Ignorance is being uninformed.
    Stupidity is to either ignore or not understand or to intentionally (willfully) stay uninformed.

  • FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca
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    6 hours ago

    Stupidity isn’t just lack of knowledge, it’s lack of wisdom. Lack of ability to think about your knowledge and apply it

  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    Ignorance is a clack of knowledge.

    Stupidity is a choice to not learn.

    Some one who is ignorant, can cure that by learning. Some one who is stupid never will.