NYT-1201: STATE OF THE ART A Thermostat That's Clever, Not ...

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apacity for applying it to concrete problems. In reality, no one has theoretical expertise in more than a few specialized subjects, and there is no s trong correlation between having such knowledge an d being able to use it to resolve complex social a nd political problems. Even more important, our t heoretical knowledge is often highly limited, so t hat even the best available expert advice may be o f little practical value. An experienced and info rmed non-expert may well have a better sense of th ese limits than experts strongly invested in their disciplines. This analysis supports the traditio nal American distrust of intellectuals: they are n ot in general highly suited for political office. But it does not support the anti-intellectualism t hat tolerates or even applauds candidates who disd ain or are incapable of serious engagement with in tellectuals. Good politicians need not be intell ectuals, but they should have intellectual lives. Concretely, they should have an ability and inter est in reading the sorts of articles that appear i n, for example, Scientific American, The New York Review of Books, and the science, culture and op-e d sections of major national newspapers — as well as the books discussed in such articles. It’s often said that what our leaders need is comm on sense, not fancy theories. But common-sense id eas that work in individuals’ everyday lives are o ften useless for dealing with complex problems of society as a whole. For example, it’s common sens e that government payments to the unemployed will lead to more jobs because those receiving the paym ents will spend the money, thereby increasing dema nd, which will lead businesses to hire more worker s. But it’s also common sense that if people are paid for not working, they will have less incentiv e to work, which will increase unemployment. The trick is to find the amount of unemployment benefi ts that will strike the most effective balance bet ween stimulating demand and discouraging employmen
t. This is where our leaders need to talk to econ omists. Knowing how to talk to economists and other expert s is an essential skill of good political leaders. This in turn requires a basic understanding of h ow experts in various fields think and what they m ight have to offer for resolving a given problem. Leaders need to be intelligent “consumers” of expe rt opinions. Our current electoral campaigns are not very good at determining candidates’ understanding of releva nt intellectual issues. “Pop quizzes” from interv iewers on historical or geographical facts don’t t ell us much: those who know the answers may still have little grasp of fundamental policy questions, whereas a good grasp can be consistent with a lac k of quick factual recall. Nor does reading sophi sticated policy speeches that others have written or reciting pre-programmed talking points in inter views or news conferences tell us much about a can didate’s knowledge. Even quick-thinking responses in debates may indicate glibness rather than unde rstanding. The best evidence of how capable candidates are of fruitfully interacting with intellectuals would b e to see them doing just this. Concretely, I make the follow suggestion for the coming presidential election: Gather small but diverse panels of emi nent, politically uncommitted experts on, say, une mployment, the history of the Middle East, and cli mate science, and have each candidate lead an hour -long televised discussion with each panel. The c andidates would not be mere moderators but would b e expected to ask questions, probe disagreements, express their own ideas or concerns, and periodica lly summarize the state of discussion. Such engag ements would provide some of the best information possible for judging candidates, while also enormo usly improving the quality of our political discourse.
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NYT-1201: STATE OF THE ART A Thermo
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NYT-1201: STATE OF THE ART A Thermostat That's Clever, Not ...

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