ethics
06-18-2007, 08:37 PM
Nothing WE didn't know already but nice to see our theories validated.
The most intelligent presidents in U.S. history haven’t been the sharpest tools in the shed and their brain power might be the culprit. Intelligence actually can be a disadvantage in positions of authority, says Mr. Posner on his blog (http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/), which he co-writes with economist Gary Becker. “Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan were not as bright as Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton,” he says, but nevertheless were better presidents.
Especially intelligent people also have difficulty trusting the intuitions of less-articulate people who have more experience than they do. That might be why many smart senior officials in government have tried to reason their way through problems on their own, assuming their civil servants’ inadequate explanations rendered their judgments invalid.
The most intelligent presidents in U.S. history haven’t been the sharpest tools in the shed and their brain power might be the culprit. Intelligence actually can be a disadvantage in positions of authority, says Mr. Posner on his blog (http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/), which he co-writes with economist Gary Becker. “Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan were not as bright as Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton,” he says, but nevertheless were better presidents.
Especially intelligent people also have difficulty trusting the intuitions of less-articulate people who have more experience than they do. That might be why many smart senior officials in government have tried to reason their way through problems on their own, assuming their civil servants’ inadequate explanations rendered their judgments invalid.