idiot:

The word idiot originates from the Greek idiotes, meaning the private person, the common individual, the one interested only in their very own [from idios meaning “one’s own”], the layman, the one lacking professional skills. In ancient Greece, idiotes was the one solely preoccupied with their own private concerns and thus not engaging with politics and the city’s community (the ‘commons’). Not following the socio-political scene, it was marginalised and perceived as ‘lacking judgment’. Throughout the years, the term transitioned to its current interpretation of the one behaving in stupid ways, outside of established norms, and lacking intelligence.

The notion of the idiot has long been in the centre of my attention, becoming an integral part of my ongoing research.