Should people too smart for their own good be allowed to vote?

[bhsup]

You know the types. People so highly educated that they have become so focused in their speciality at the expense of any common sense or knowledge outside of that very narrow field. We've all met them.

They are incapable of holding coherent positions on political matters, or any matter, so should they be allowed to have a say in the political future of our nation? I'm personally dubious. Not sure how this would be implemented, though. Perhaps ban voting for all those who get a Ph.D, or base it on IQ?

 

[GoodEnoughForMe]

Er... then wouldn't you have to ban those too stupid to have any political knowledge to?

 

[Bartleby]

What if you have a PhD in politics?

 

[psweetman1590]

Personally, I think the best thing to do is test everyone just before the election (and I mean JUST before, to make sure there can be no cheating) on the actual issues raised by candidates. Your votes value fluctuates depending on how well you do on that test.

Not only will this weed out the politically incompetent, it will also encourage looking beyond the sound bytes and thrown mud that get spewed everywhere.

 

[Till]

Judge them by their fruits. Have somebody with common sense look over the academic votes, and count only those that make sense to him.

 

[warpus]

What, and let the conservatives win every election? Pfft

 

[JollyRoger]

I don't think you should be prohibited from voting, VRWCAgent.

 

[Atlas14]

What if you're too stupid to objectively determine whether someone else is too smart?

 

[Phlegmak]

Should people too smart for their own good be allowed to vote?

Yes. .

 

[bhsup]

Judge them by their fruits. Have somebody with common sense look over the academic votes, and count only those that make sense to him.

Just like to throw my hat into the ring for that job. I'll do great!

I don't think you should be prohibited from voting, VRWCAgent.

Thanks, man. I'll name my firstborn after you.

What if you have a PhD in politics?

Obviously, that would be the exception to the rule.

 

[sourboy]

Absurd question. Yes.

 

[downtown]

Why would anybody bother getting a PhD in anything if they would lose their ability to have a force in the government?

 

[Brighteye]

There's no such thing as too smart for your own good, unless perhaps you're in a run-down area and you're raising the likelihood of being mugged.

There's no such thing as being too clever for your own good, so I find the question pointless. These people don't exist, so whether they have a vote or not doesn't really matter.

 

[ArneHD]

Work hard to get Ph.D, loose representation? "No taxation without representation!".

Unless, of course, you are suggesting that they pay no tax.

 

[Mise]

I haven't voted since I was 18. Can I not pay taxes plx?

 

[EdwardTking]

You know the types. People so highly educated that they have become so focused in their speciality at the expense of any common sense or knowledge outside of that very narrow field. We've all met them.

They are incapable of holding coherent positions on political matters, or any matter, so should they be allowed to have a say in the political future of our nation? I'm personally dubious. Not sure how this would be implemented, though. Perhaps ban voting for all those who get a Ph.D, or base it on IQ?

I don't understand the physics "String Theory" but I admit that is my
limitation, not that of those mathematicians who can understand it.

So yes, those smart people who know more than, and have hold complex
views that VRWCAgent, or I, can not understand; should be allowed to vote.

 

[Azash]

Personally, I think the best thing to do is test everyone just before the election (and I mean JUST before, to make sure there can be no cheating) on the actual issues raised by candidates. Your votes value fluctuates depending on how well you do on that test.

Not only will this weed out the politically incompetent, it will also encourage looking beyond the sound bytes and thrown mud that get spewed everywhere.

Who pays for the tests, let alone calculating the value of individual votes?

 

[Irish Caesar]

Perhaps ban voting for all those who get a Ph.D, or base it on IQ?

People who get PhD's in practical subjects should be allowed to vote.

Hence, Irish, Ph.D. NE would be able to vote, whereas someone who majored in, say, classical Sanskrit, should not.

Why would anybody bother getting a PhD in anything if they would lose their ability to have a force in the government?

If having one will lead toward a higher-paying job... And lest someone pre-emptively warn that the commoners will put us in a higher tax bracket, we can make death rays...

 

[nivi]

I did not expect such a moronic question from you.

 

[bhsup]

I did not expect such a moronic question from you.

I'll actually take that as a backhanded compliment since you would normally anticipate better threads from me! So thank you!

It is, primarily, a tongue-in-cheek in jest response to the "Should people with profound mental retardation be allowed to vote" thread. However, it does have a kernel of truth to it as well, and I'll give a bit of anecdotal evidence in the form of one of my dad's ex girlfriends.

This lady has a Ph.D. in special education English for the mentally handicapped. IN this field, she is pretty darned brilliant. But this brilliance seems to have come at a cost of loss of cognitive ability in all other subjects. Even her own son from a previous marriage has commented on how the further along she went in pursuing her professional education, she lost a step or two or twenty in other areas. She totally clueless in almost every other aspect of life, all because of her pursuit of higher education.

Seems her brain just had to push everything else out to make room for the new stuff. Kind of like Homer Simpson!