Politically correct about stupid

[Lógos Sokratikós]

Is it ok for me to be calling rampant mythomania "stupid"? I've been noticing that in my posts.

Stupid from the Latin Stupidus, from Stupere = to stun.

To stun:
1. To daze or render senseless, by or as if by a blow.
2. To overwhelm or daze with a loud noise.
3. To stupefy, as with the emotional impact of an experience; astound. (from www.answers.com)

I know it's not "politically correct". But isn't it "correct"?


Question one: Isn't it correct to call it stupid?

Question two: Any other words I can use that are more polite (for our guests) and still be precise?

[Aethari]

Root of the word aside, "stupid" has a colloquial meaning of "not worthy of consideration" or "for idiots." That said, I don't think it's correct to use the word. Even if it is completely lacking a rational basis, religion and "mythomania" have such a massive historical legacy and power in society that it seems inaccurate to refer to them as stupid. In common usage, stupid is a dismissive word that denotes something as being unworthy of consideration. Religion may be dead wrong, but it's still worthy of consideration for how it has guided our past, and still shapes our present. (And hopefully, how it won't make our future.)

For a better word? Perhaps: unfounded, irrational, inaccurate.

Stupid might come from roots that imply "X is stupid" and "X will daze and astound" have the same meaning, but I think it's evident from practice that this is not so. Using stupid like that is archaic, and as far as I know, it is never used in such a manner, even in esoteric disciplines.