'The human being is a truly remarkable creature,' he tells us.

'He has discovered fire, built cities, writen magnificent poems, interpreted the world, invented mythologies, etc. But at the same time he has never ceased waging war on his fellow humans, being totally wrong, destroying his environment, etc. This mixture of great intellectual powers and base idiocy creates an approximately neutral outcome.

So when we decide to explore human stupidity, we are somehow paying tribute to this creature who is part genius, part fool.' 

From Jean-Phillippe De Tonnac's introduction to This is Not the End of the Book…