This text was written for the FrameWork series in response to Gareth Long's exhibition "Square Peg Round Hole" at Susan Hobbs Gallery in March 2017. 

The Cycles of Stupidity

Stupidity
/st(y)oo’pidede/: noun
Behaviour that shows a lack of good sense or judgment. 
“I can’t believe my own stupidity” 
lack of intelligence, foolishness, denseness, brainlessness, ignorance, dull-wittedness, slow-wittedness, doltishness, slowness 

Foolishness
/fooliSHnes/: noun
Lack of good sense or judgment; stupidity. 
“She was realizing the foolishness in her actions” 
folly, stupidity, idiocy, imbecility, silliness, inanity, thoughtlessness, injudiciousness, lack of foresight 

Idiocy
/ideese/: noun
Extremely stupid behaviour. 
“The idiocy of decimating rainforests” 
stupidity, folly, foolishness, foolhardiness, ignorance 

Ignorance
/’ignerens/: noun
Lack of knowledge or information. 
“He acted in ignorance of basic procedures” 
incomprehension of, unawareness of, illiteracy, unconsciousness of, unfamiliarity with, inexperience with, lack of knowledge about, lack of information about, unenlightenment 

Illiteracy
/i(l)’liderese/: noun
The inability to read or write. 
“The ineffective educational system meant that illiteracy was widespread” 
inability to read or write, ignorance, unawareness, inexperience, lack of knowledge, lack of education, informal cluelessness 

Unaware
/ˌənəˈwer/: adjective
Having no knowledge of a situation or fact. 
“They were unaware of his absence” 
ignorant, unknowing, unconscious, heedless, unmindful, oblivious, incognizant, unsuspecting, innocent, uninformed, unenlightened, unwitting 

Innocent
ˈinəsənt/: adjective
Not guilty of a crime or offense. 
“The arbitrary execution of an innocent man” 
guiltless, blameless, in the clear, unimpeachable, irreproachable, above suspicion, faultless, honourable, honest 

Guiltless
ˈɡiltləs/: adjective
Having no guilt; innocent. 
“You don’t need a pardon if you’re guiltless” 
innocent, blameless, not to blame, without fault, impeccable, above reproach, above suspicion, in the clear, sinless, spotless, immaculate 

Impeccable
imˈpekəb(ə)l/: adjective
(Of behaviour, performance, or appearance) in accordance with the highest standards of propriety; faultless. 
“She’s a person of impeccable character” 
flawless, faultless, unblemished, spotless, immaculate, pristine, stainless, perfect, exemplary 

Flawless
ˈflôləs/: adjective
Without any blemishes or imperfections; perfect. 
“Her brown flawless skin” 
perfect, unblemished, unmarked, unimpaired, whole, intact, sound, unbroken, undamaged, mint 

Intact
inˈtakt/: adjective
Not damaged or impaired in any way; complete. 
"The gallery was almost in ruins, but its front door remained intact" whole, entire, complete, unbroken, undamaged, unimpaired, faultless, flawless, unscathed, untouched 

Entire
ənˈtī(ə)r/: adjective
With no part left out; whole. 
"My plans are to travel the entire world" 
whole, complete, total, full, undivided 

Total
ˈtōdl/: adjective
Complete; absolute. 
"A total stranger" 
complete, utter, absolute, thorough, out-and-out, outright, all-out, sheer, perfect, consummate 

Absolute
ˈabsəˌlo͞ot,ˌabsəˈlo͞ot/: adjective
Not qualified or diminished in any way; total. 
"Absolute secrecy" 
complete, total, utter, out-and-out, outright, entire, perfect, pure, decided 

Perfect
ˈpərfikt/: adjective
Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. 
"She strove to be the perfect CEO" 
ideal, model, without, faultless, flawless, consummate, quintessential, exemplary, best, ultimate 

Best
/best/: adjective
Outwit or get the better of (someone). 
"She refused to allow herself to be bested" 
defeat, beat, get the better of, outdo, outwit, outsmart, worst, be more than a match for, prevail over, vanquish 

Worst
wərst/: adjective
Superlative of bad, ill. 
“This is the worst day ever” 
defeat, beat, vanquish, bad, crush 

Bad
/bad/: adjective
Of poor quality or a low standard. 
"A bad diet" 
substandard, poor, inferior, second-rate, amateurish, second-class, unsatisfactory, inadequate, unacceptable, not up to scratch 

Amateurish
,aməˈCHo͝oriSH/: adjective
To be unskilled. 
"The editing is choppy and amateurish" 
inexperienced, inept, inexpert, jackleg, unprofessional 

Inept
iˈnept/: adjective
Having or showing no skill; clumsy. 
"The inept handling of the threat" 
incompetent, unskilful, unskilled, inexpert, amateurish, clumsy, awkward 

Clumsy
ˈkləmzē/: adjective Awkward in movement or in handling things. 
"A terribly clumsy fellow" 
awkward, uncoordinated, ungainly, graceless, inelegant 

Awkward
ˈôkwərd/: adjective
Causing or feeling embarrassment or inconvenience. 
"He had put her in a very awkward situation" 
embarrassing, uncomfortable, unpleasant, delicate, tricky, problematic, troublesome, thorny 

Uncomfortable
ˌənˈkəmfərdəb(ə)l,/: adjective
Causing or feeling slight pain or physical discomfort. 
"Athlete's foot is a painful and uncomfortable condition" 
painful, disagreeable, intolerable, unbearable, confining, cramped 

Intolerable
ˌinˈtäl(ə)rəb(ə)l/: adjective
Unable to be endured. 
"The intolerable pressures of his work" 
unbearable, insufferable, unsupportable, insupportable, unendurable, beyond endurance, too much to bear, unacceptable 

Unacceptable
ˌənəkˈseptəb(ə)l/: adjective
Not satisfactory or allowable. 
"Unacceptable behaviour" 
insufferable, unsatisfactory, inadmissible, inappropriate, unsuitable, undesirable, unreasonable, insupportable 

Unsatisfactory
ˌənsadəsˈfakt(ə)rē/: adjective
Unacceptable because poor or not good enough. 
"An unsatisfactory situation" 
disappointing, dissatisfying, undesirable, inferior, disagreeable, displeasing, inadequate, unacceptable, poor 

Inferior
ˌinˈfirēər/: adjective
Lower in rank, status, or quality. 
"Schooling in inner-city areas was inferior to that in the rest of the country" 
second-class, lesser, lower in status, lower-ranking, subordinate, second-fiddle, junior, minor, subservient 

Lesser
ˈlesər/: adjective
Not so great or important as the other or the rest. 
"He was convicted of a lesser assault charge" 
minor, secondary, subsidiary, marginal, ancillary, auxiliary, supplementary, peripheral, inferior, insignificant 

Insignificant
ˌinsiɡˈnifəkənt/: adjective
Too small or unimportant to be worth consideration. 
"The amount required was insignificant compared with military spending" 
unimportant, pointless, trivial, trifling, negligible, inconsequential, of no account, inconsiderable, nugatory, paltry, petty 

Pointless
ˈpoin(t)ləs/: adjective
Having little or no sense, use, or purpose. 
"Speculating on this is a pointless exercise" 
senseless, futile, hopeless, fruitless, stupid, useless, needless, in vain, unavailing, aimless, idles, worthless, valueless, absurd, insane, stupid, silly, foolish 

Stupid
ˈst(y)o͞opəd/: adjective
Having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense. 
"I was stupid enough to think this exercise would bring me any answers" 
unintelligent, ignorant, dense, foolish, dull-witted, slow, simpleminded, vacuous, vapid, idiotic, imbecilic, obtuse 

This text is largely sourced from Google dictionary in the search for “stupidity”.