I was reading a news release in Science a while back and have been thinking about it for a while. You can find the complete news item, In The Courts, is about a man of supposed superior intelligence who, for whatever reason, did an unwise thing.The unwise thing this man, 70 years old and a pioneer in gene-therapy research, did was molest a young girl. He'll now spend 14 years in prison, most likely in solitary because he'll be at risk from the other inmates.
The news item shares that scores of letters asking for leniency were sent on this fellow's behalf to the judge.
Sometimes, and I'm not sure why, we think that people of great intellect aren't subject to baser thoughts and desires. I remember so wanting to meet Dr. Edwin Teller, the so-called father of the American H-bomb. I wanted to meet him because I was so enraptured by his science, by his intellect, by his ability to reason and find answers where others couldn't even come up with the questions.
(more to follow)
I'll be speaking at the Society for New Communications Research Annual Awards Gala Summit on 1-2 Nov 07 in Boston. Come on by and say hello.
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