> Whether you want to say someone is acting stupid all the time, or someone is being stupid is just semantics.
Actually I think there is a crucial distinction here that is not just semantics. When you say someone is stupid, it implies that this is an in-born and unchangeable condition. When someone is acting stupid, you can look at the information they have, the way society frames certain issues, and many other mutable factors which we can work on to solve the problem.
Exactly. Humans are more likely to attribute their own behavior to situational factors (I acted stupidly because I haven't gotten much sleep recently) and the behavior of others to inherent characteristics (he's stupid).
Actually I think there is a crucial distinction here that is not just semantics. When you say someone is stupid, it implies that this is an in-born and unchangeable condition. When someone is acting stupid, you can look at the information they have, the way society frames certain issues, and many other mutable factors which we can work on to solve the problem.