dunderheadedness

Why this word is great

DUNDERHEADEDNESS — [Noun] The quality or state of being stupid or foolish. From *dunderheaded* ("stupid, foolish") + *-ness* (noun-forming suffix indicating a state or quality), with *dunderhead* likely deriving from Dutch *donder* ("thunder") + *kop* ("head"), metaphorically implying a thick or dull mind. Unlike "obtuseness" (which implies a sluggish intellect) or "imbecility" (which connotes profound deficiency), dunderheadedness is the cheerful, almost proud embrace of folly. It is the man who locks his keys in the car three times in one morning, the politician who proudly misquotes his own legislation, the child who licks a frozen lamppost—each act a small monument to humanity’s stubborn, endearing refusal to learn. We are all, at times, dunderheads; the miracle is that we survive ourselves.