Okay, so, functional stupidity.  It's like... imagine you're a super-smart robot, right?  Built to solve complex equations, design bridges, maybe even write poetry.  But then, someone gives you a really simple task, like, "Put this red block in the red hole."  And you're so focused on following the procedure for block-and-hole interaction (because, protocols!) that you completely miss the blindingly obvious fact that the red block is SQUARE and the red hole is ROUND.  You're functionally stupid.  You're capable of incredible feats of intelligence, but you're blind to the simple, common-sense solution staring you in the face.

It's like, you're so busy following the rules, ticking the boxes, and doing what you're supposed to do, that you completely forget to, you know, think.  You're so caught up in the how that you totally lose sight of the why. You become a highly efficient cog in a machine that's not actually going anywhere.  You're brilliant, but also, kinda... daft.  It's like wearing noise-canceling headphones in a library. You're technically doing what you should, but you're missing the point entirely.  If you are in leadership and are focused too much on your team doing exactly what you ask them to do you may just be developing a team beautifully competent in functional stupidity…