Stay empty, stay stupid

When Steve Jobs, the previous era's Elon Musk, exhorted Stanford graduates in 2005 to 'stay hungry, stay foolish', he was celebrating curiosity, intellectual adventure and the courage to venture into the unknown. Two decades later, his advice needs an upgrade: 'Stay empty, stay stupid'. Intellectual emptiness is no longer a handicap but a competitive advantage. Silly things like knowledge and expertise are sillier impediments to the modern pursuit of success and power, which now usually depends on saying something spectacularly idiotic that will hold the entire room's attention and be qualified as genius. An impressive ignorance of the subject, inexhaustible supply of self-confidence, and a condescension towards anyone who knows better are today's triple-whammy virtues. The last is particularly important. Nothing establishes intellectual superiority quite like treating intelligence as a self-righteous character defect.

Most people cannot relate to a smart guy who extols the value of doubt and confirmation. They can, however, relate to someone spouting invectives and pouting on his own trumpet. Ignorance creates a certain kind of natural camaraderie (of ignorants). Fools have always found power and popularity. The new twist is that foolishness has become aspirational. Our advice, dear smart reader? Act dumb. It's bound to take you places.