Idiot person, he is so stupid sometimes, an act of foolishness, so imbecile you are etc. these are some commonly used expressions now days. People use them very frequently, some say to insult, some to drain out their agony on someone and excuses are endless. But what people don’t realize is that these clauses are of greater meaning than casually expressed.
Feeblemindedness is the correct term here. Very esoteric. Feeblemindedness is less than the average deficiency of intelligence. Usually people who cannot manage their lives without supervision and are often dependent on someone. Thus it is clear that the feebleminded person is a problem for his family as well as for the society.
The feebleminded persons can divided in the following three classes according to their intelligence:
1) Idiots : This category can not protect themselves even from common danger. They cannot avoid a vehicle. They will put their hands in fire, jump in deep water without hesitation. They can neither keep themselves clean nor clothes. They cannot act for themselves and cannot fulfill other’s needs. Except few words they cannot speak any language. They are the least intelligent.
2) Imbeciles : these are more intelligent than idiots. They can avoid common dangers. They can speak but not write. They cannot do any useful jobs. Very few imbeciles can learn some useful task, though not without supervision.
3) Morons : These are most numerous among feebleminded persons and also the most intelligent in the concerned categories. They can fulfill their daily needs without any supervision. They can also learn to do some useful jobs, foe example looking after their pets, carpentry, sewing etc. But to earn a living, they require the supervision of a person who may understand their limitation and shortcomings. Without such supervision, they will waste money, time and become delinquents.
Hence, when people use words mentioned above they are far from the fact that these words are lot stronger than they appear. And they shouldn’t use it quite casually.