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On 2016-05-08 18:27, Adrian Tymes wrote:<br>
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<div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, May 8, 2016 at 9:09 AM,
William Flynn Wallace <span dir="ltr"><<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:foozler83@gmail.com"
target="_blank"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:foozler83@gmail.com">foozler83@gmail.com</a></a>></span>
wrote:<br>
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ms',sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8px">I
ask everyone on this list this question: given that
you are far smarter than the average person or even
the average college graduate, did you ever think
that you could do a better job of running your town,
state, or country? Of course you have. Why?
Because you are great an engineering or economics or
physics? You see - being among the elite pumps your
ego -- it certainly has pumped mine, and I AM one of
those who think this way, but I know that this is
dangerous thinking and I am very ignorant of how to
run anything outside of a classroom.</span></div>
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I know that I could learn how to run things better. That is a
meta-skill that most people do not have, to a degree that many
use the lack of it as a social or comedic common. (How many
people say they want to "rest their brain" or the like when
merely encountering a complex problem, with no serious attempt
made to begin figuring out how to solve it?)<br>
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<br>
That is a good answer. Putting people able to acquire relevant
skills in charge is a good idea. But in general there is a big cost
to on-the-job learning: you want to put people in charge who have
the skills from the start. Which skills depends a fair bit on the
job - many jobs running institutions require social skills that tend
to require practical training over long time.<br>
<br>
I like my friend Toby's answer. When asked whether the world would
be a better place if we put a philosopher like him (well-meaning,
very smart and knowledgeable) in charge he gave it some thought and
said: "Either much better, or much worse. And there is no way of
knowing before trying it."<br>
<br>
It is not just "putting people in charge". That assumes their job is
decisionmaking, and that is pretty clearly wrong (hang out in a
parliament for a while or read a PoliSci textbook). Decisions are a
tiny part of the job, with much more of it being management,
negotiation and (this is a biggie in democratic politics)
representing the viewpoint of the voters. If I somehow magically
(and unconstitutionally) ended up in the White House and had the
right skillset I would still be a disaster since I do not represent
the US people in any sensible way, and I would have absolutely zero
legitimacy. Getting legitimacy, that is actually what the current US
candidate circus is about. Unfortunately for everyone it is not
going very well. <br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Anders Sandberg
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford Martin School
Oxford University</pre>
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