Smart people cause more trouble

Smart people cause more trouble.

They do.

The near-meltdown of hedge fund LTCM back in 1998 is a perfect example. And they had two Nobel laureates to guide them.

Now, this giant hedge fund Amaranth (and hedge funds are the kind of firms that hire a lot of the *top* "nums") has failed, lost tons of "smart" investor money and now liquidating.

Meanwhile, down in DC, we read that:

“Look, this is a war, and you are going to have a lot of really smart people with completely different opinions,” Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, said at a briefing on Friday afternoon.

Being smart is neither good enough nor a guarantee of success. Unfortunately, a lot of people really do believe that it is both. Being smart doesn't assure invulnerability. And it is not an immunity against hubris.

-- Jack Krupansky