Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would have to rise to a level where Americans would want the jobs currently taken by illegal aliens.
Thomas SowellRead
There is usually only a limited amount of damage that can be done by dull or stupid people. For creating a truly monumental disaster, you need people with high IQs.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Intelligent individuals can create significant problems if they misuse their abilities, while less intelligent people tend to have a limited impact.
This quote by Thomas Sowell suggests that while less intelligent individuals may cause damage, it is the highly intelligent ones who are capable of creating truly catastrophic scenarios. The statement reflects on the idea that intellect, when paired with malice or poor judgment, can lead to monumental disasters that simple-mindedness does not often achieve.
Themes
IntelligenceDisasterWisdomImpactIqJudgment
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about education policies, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of teaching moral responsibility alongside intellectual development.
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One of the reasons for conspiracy theories is an assumption that people in high places always know what they are doing. When they do something that makes no sense, devious reasons are imagined by conspiracy theorists, when in fact it may be due to plain old ignorance and incompetence.
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You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.
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The real problem, both in discussions of mass shootings and in discussions of gun control, is that too many people are too committed to a vision to allow mere facts to interfere with their beliefs, and the sense of superiority that those beliefs give them.
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Why is history important? Without history, many people have no idea how many of today's half-baked ideas have been tried, again and again - and have repeatedly led to disaster. Most of these ideas are not new. They are just being recycled with re-treaded rhetoric.
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