Week 35 Ecclesiastes 10
A little folly outweighs wisdom.
It’s something to keep in mind: Stupid is heavier than Smart. A little idiocy outweighs a whole lot of wisdom – which is a little troubling if it’s true (unless I’m a wickedly-dangerous or morally-defective idiot and I prefer & promote & endorse crass or dangerous or evil or corrosively moronic action. If that’s what I’m after then I have a definite advantage).
Foolishness carries more weight than Wisdom. As far as I know there’s no lab that has a Foolish-Wisdom Scale. But if one did I could put a small volume of Foolish on one pan and a big chunk of Wisdom on the other and Foolishness would tip the beam down. Pound-for-Pound Wisdom can’t complete.
In the regular run of things this is surprising. I’d have thought that Foolishness & Wisdom would be in roughly the same weight category. That way when I look at the two I’d have to think about which to choose.
But Solomon seems to be saying ‘No No No! It’s not difficult at all because Foolish action is way more attractive than Wisdom’.
That might be because it’s preferable. Being a fool is more compelling. Forceful. Fulfilling. Desirable. Self-promotional. Publicly acceptable.
Before I bother taking my first look at a Foolish-Wisdom Scale I’ve maybe already decided what my pre-test preference is. Maybe I just prefer Foolishness. Maybe I even see a sort of wisdom in being in a fool.
Note: quote from Ecclesiastes 10:1 (NIV)