What would you say the difference between ignorance and stupidity is?

Ignorance is touching a hot stove because you don't know it's hot. Stupidity is touching a hot stove even after you saw the ignorant person get burned.

alan smithee wrote:

Ignorance is touching a hot stove because you don't know it's hot. Stupidity is touching a hot stove even after you saw the ignorant person get burned.

I would say ignorance is a person who is stupid, but has the ability to be smart, whereas a stupid person is just stupid.

Chris wrote:

What would you say the difference between ignorance and stupidity is?

Ignorance is the lack of "knowledge" or "experience". When you DON'T know what certain things are or are unable to distinguish between something that is right and something that is wrong, then you are ignorant!

Stupidity is the lack of "wisdom". When you DO know the difference between right and wrong and still choose to do the wrong thing, then you are stupid! You know what you should have done, but chose to do the opposite instead!

Sarah Palin is IGNORANT because she thinks that Africa is a "country".

John McCain is STUPID because he chose Palin as a running mate for the Presidential election.

It's kind of like that expression "Fool me once, shame on YOU (ignorance). Fool me twice shame on ME" (stupidity)

1. Ignorance implies a lack of awareness, while stupidity implies the inability to understand.

2. Ignorance can be removed by the acquisition of knowledge, while a stupid person is intrinsically so, and therefore difficult to reform.

3. Ignorance is caused by the circumstances of one’s life, whereas stupidity is due to an attitude problem or mental deficiency in the person concerned.

4. While the reasons of ignorance are universally the same, stupidity is often defined by one’s perception of what comprises stupidity.