Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Levy's Second Law and the BP oil spill

Levy's second law: "Intelligence is no guarantee against stupidity," ought to be as well known as the second law of thermodynamics. Indeed, it should be required reading at any institution of higher learning.

The importance of this principle is easy to see. Just look at the roster of luminaries and high wage earners among Bernie Madoff's suckers. Or look at President Obama's endorsement of offshore oil drilling.

Experts are  more gullible outside their field than the average Joe. The higher the victim's education and IQ, the easier for con men, grifters and oil company officials to fool them.

It's not just teenagers who are subject to peer pressure. The opinions of insiders are as seductive to technocrats as Silly Bandz are to middle school pupils. And just as  parents foot the bill for their kids' fads, tax payers and community members  ultimately pay the price for technocrats' desire to be part of in-crowd.

The well-educated wrap their educations around their egos as proof of self-worth. "I'm smart, I went to Columbia and to Harvard Law School. I can trust me," goes their internal monologue.

"Here is a pigeon ripe for the plucking," say lobbyists and industry experts to themselves. Guess who gets plucked?