<p>In Idries Shah&#39;s Wisdom of the Idiots, the &#39;idiots&#39; are Sufis, called this because their wisdom penetrates to a depth which renders it inaccessible to the merely intelligent or academically-knowledgeable. The exercise-stories of the Sufis are tools prepared for a specific purpose. On this level the movements of the characters in a story portray psychological processes, and the story becomes a working blueprint of those processes. Wisdom of the Idiots has been awarded many prizes, including two gold medals, one for being &#39;Best Book&#39;, in conjunction with UNESCO&#39;s World Book Year.</p>