Smart People Stuck With Bad Ideas

SmartPeopleStuckWithBadIdeas is tragic pattern.

And one of the InevitableIllusions is that SmartPeopleDoNotDefendBadIdeas.

This pattern applies to groups / communities and organizations too. Recently (mid05) I found some information related to HealthCare industry which you can find in RefactoringGovernment if interested.

WhySmartPeopleDefendBadIdeas?

Most often it is down to one of the two following possibilities, or its derivatives.

1 - Broken Ego

Often it is ego related. They have a reputation (well-earned) to be right a lot, and cannot suffer the humiliation of being wrong.

Sometimes, people around the smart ones tolerate errors more than the smart ones had allowed for themselves. Tragic, isn't it?

2 - OnlySayThingsThatCanBeHeard

There are times "smart people" need to survive (or perceive things that way) in a hostile environment. See "Good Accountants Do Bad Audits " link in SelfDeceit.

3 - Other reasons are not as frequent in occurrence

Some of the other reasons include "lapse in judgement", "hasty decision with erroneous input", etc. But if "Smart People" persist in defending Bad Ideas, it is back to issue number 1 listed above.

OTOH, sometimes smart people have bad habits and cannot shake them. It is a case of broken SelfManagement which we all possess to various degrees. When confronted with something they cannot change quickly they resort to defending bad ideas to at least salvage some of their dignity. But this is probably not a case of excessive ego.
And if we take smart people with the narrower definition as those with greater mental capabilities, as a group the smarter ones have less well developed SocialIntelligence. And they make and repeat mistakes in the social arena.

Tragedy AT the Commons

Most of the time, the bigger tragedy is with the impact on the community around the smart people. Smart people can and do cause more damages than the more OrdinaryPeople who wished the smart ones did the smart things.

A possible solution to "Ego in the way"

Exercise RightToChangeMyMind

Bad ideas (on hindsight) better than No ideas

Sometimes a quick action is required to respond to a volatile situation

Without a mixture of well defended ideas, it is difficult to see the good from the bad. Smart people can push ideas, even bad ones, to their limits. Other ideas then have to develop and mature to compete. Looking at the bigger picture of human progress, this is not necessarily a bad thing. -- ChrisSteinbach

Yes. Nowhere on this page is defined, what constitutes a 'BadIdea'. it is difficult to see the good from the bad - especially in the beginning, when its consequences and interrelations are not yet fully explored. And when they are, it get incresingly difficult to let go or even see the disadvantages. One sees what one wants to see. -- .gz

Ok I am agreeing to this. However when I started the page it was mainly "inspired" by "good accountants doing bad audits" and other technically avoidable tragedies. -- dl

Having said that, we should really examine whether judgement should (need) be made quickly. So in my mind "Good governance" as a solution to "bad management" is a theoretical position (or self defining one) and other solutions to problems need to be sought.

CategoryPsychology