A Short History of Stupid: The Decline of Reason and Why Public Debate Makes Us Want to Scream

In the tradition of outrageous and satirical books like those by P. J. O'Rourke and Christopher Hitchens, this will be a water-cooler book like no other

An unlikely friendship between columnist Helen Razer and political commentator Bernard Keane resulted in a mutual conclusion about the state of the world and the way people govern it, write about it, and entertain it: never have things been so bad! To remedy the current ubiquity of "Stupid," they decided that a book describing its nature and inexorable rise must be written. What is Stupid? The rejection of the discomfort of intellectual rigor in favor of the mentally comfortable and convenient. Stupid takes many forms, and they change over time, but always reflect an inability or unwillingness to grasp basic reasoning and use of evidence. Also willful ignorance, conspiracy theories, denialism, lack of perspective, mistaking actions for consequences, and substitution of emotion for reason. Sound familiar? This book is angry, funny, savage, smart, provocative, infuriating, and incendiary. It is as rude and inflammatory as O'Rourke and as penetrating and unforgiving as Hitchens. It is funny, but is also both a provocation and a comfort for those of like minds. Above all, it inspires debate, reassure the terminally frustrated and outrage the righteously Stupid.

Bernard Keane writes on politics, media, and economics, and is the author of War on the Internet. Helen Razer is an opinion and arts writer, journalist, columnist, writer, and broadcaster. She has written four nonfiction books and contributes opinion pieces to Rolling Stone, the Age, and other pop culture outlets.