Stupidity surrounds us, whether it's the uncle who regurgitates conspiracy theories, colleagues who repeat your opinion louder, or passengers who don't know how to use the stairs. But what is the answer to this ongoing plague?

Philosopher Maxime Rovere turns his attention to the haziest intellectual corners. With warmth, wit, and wisdom, he illuminates a new understanding of idiots, examining our relationships with others and our own selfishness, offering tools and strategies to deconstruct the most desperate foolish situations. He also reveals how to stop being the idiots, as we are always someone else's idiot.

With excellent translation by David Bellos, this is a scholarly, enjoyable, and essential unraveling of a very familiar difficulty.