tarltontarlton of the Bulwark writes a really spicy take on stupid people and their relationship to President Trump. Essentially Trump is one of them who has made it. That mountaintop feels too damn good to give up. But what is stupid anyways? Emphasis is mine:
(Because “stupid” is a pretty stupid term, I should probably take a minute here to describe what I mean. It’s not really a matter of raw IQ, and educational achievement only partially captures it. Stupid people are those who don’t understand what is happening around them and have no interest in actually finding out. Active ignorance would be another way of putting it, but “stupid” just sounds better. Despite being very well informed about electrons and such, a competent chemical engineer with a master’s degree could be very stupid indeed if he/she still believes that trickle down economics is a real thing.)
I know plenty educated people who lack any curiosity to understanding what is happening around them. I hesitant to think they are stupid people. But a key characteristic is having no interest in finding out why things are happening to them.