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In this quote by Akihiro Miwa, 「そんな～ことはありません」 isn't used the way I'd expect it
to be:

> 努力{どりょく}をしない人も[平等]{びょうどう}になどと、そんなバカなことはありません。  
> It's (extremely?) foolish to treat people who don't make an effort equally.

I think 「そんな～ことはありません」 is used for emphasis here, but is using negation in
this way common and how does "there aren't those kind of foolish things"
become "extremely foolish"?
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2011-11-19T00:23:50.797
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2011-11-19T10:49:55.727
2011-11-19T06:39:30.633
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question
grammar set-phrases
Emphasis instead of negation in 「そんなバカなことはありません」
You are right that in your example, そんなバカなことはありません means “It is extremely
foolish.” I think that the literal meaning of this expression is “There is
nothing as foolish as such a thing,” from which the meaning “It is extremely
foolish” follows logically.
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2011-11-19T02:30:57.850
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2011-11-19T02:30:57.850
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answer
`そんなバカなことはありません` has two interpretations in arbitrary context.

>   1. Literally meaning "those foolish things" are not existent.
>
>   2. It means that those things set a new precedent for foolishness. That is
> to say that it was unprecedented, or exaggerated to appear unprecedented. So
> one way to understand it would be to take it as "extremely foolish".
>
>
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2011-11-19T10:49:55.727
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2011-11-19T10:49:55.727
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer