User blog comment:Keekian/Will OP be better if Luffy was smarter?/@comment-24850639-20170417180300

Dumb or stupid aren't fair words for Luffy, because he literally always demonstrates the contrary when the moment calls for it: be it stragetic intelligence on the fly in the middle of battle, emotional intelligence in being able to judge character and know how people REALLY feel (Sanji/Robin), and I daresay social intelligence, knowing the precise things to say and do even when they seem absurd (Vivi example, talking to Momo like a man rather than all the other kids he's run into).

I think "simple-minded" might be a better term for Luffy. He's not a person that diverts a ton of mental energy into figuring out how he's gonna move forward unless he has to, he sorta lets his heart be the auto-pilot. It's to the point that it literally can't be helped, which lends credence to him having a such a pure heart and making so many friends. It's why he's a terrible liar, and just doesn't have it in him to be duplicitous. Many would naturally think this a weakness, but Oda's masterful writing has on more than several occassions turned it into an asset. His desire to turn the fucking Kraken into a pet led to them discovering Magello, which was key in his relationship with Shirahoshi, which led to how they hatched their plan to bring down Hordy Jones. Destroying the floor in his fight with Monet was absolutely pointless, and him falling into a dumpster chute suited him perfectly. But there he meets the main person at the center of all this Kaido/Wano drama, and his friendly relationship with him immediately pays dividends in Punk Hazard, Dressrosa, and Zou.