In the old school system, a bad or misbehaving pupil would be sent to the corner
of the classroom to sit and reflect. He would be made to wear a dunces cap.
This entered popular culture as a joke, although today's schoolchildren may not
be aware of the reference.
C.S. Nott speculated that this may have come from the Sufi or Dervish ceremonies,
perhaps where we get the idea of ritual initiation.
When a pupil had achieved a certain stage of inner growth, they held a ceremony to mark this.
He would be sent into a corner, wearing a long cap, away from the group, and then brought
back as a new being.
Perhaps this man knew something more than this article lets on.
The "dunce cap," and the word "dunce" itself, comes from one man: John Duns Scotus, or "the Subtle Doctor," born in 1266 in Duns, Scotland (hence his name). He was considered a master philosopher in the late middle ages, coining such oblique terms as "haecceitas" ---literally, "thisness." (I'm keeping that one in mind for my next Scrabble game.) He taught in Oxford, Cambridge and Paris, and founded the school of Scholastic thought called Scotism, whose followers were referred to as "Dunsmen."
What does this all have to do with those silly pointy hats?
Well, one of the more mystical things Duns accepted was the wearing of conical hats to increase learning. He noted that wizards supposedly wore such things; an apex was considered a symbol of knowledge and the hats were thought to "funnel" knowledge to the wearer. (Our note: Think again "Wizard" = initiate)
Once humanism gained the upper hand, Duns Scotus's teachings were despised and the "dunce cap" became identified with ignorance rather than learning. Humanists believed learning came from internal motivation rather than special hats, and used the public shame of having to wear a dunce cap to motivate slow learners to try harder.
Source: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1793/whats-the-origin-of-the-dunce-cap
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