Question

What is the value of good Intelligence? Why is it crucial for policy makers to have good Intelligence?

Answer 1

Lewis Terman proposed the IQ scale in which he classified the IQ scores. According to his classification, any IQ score which is 85 and above is considered as a value of good intelligence. People who score below this category are considered as below average and the ones who score below 70 are diagnosed with mental retardation.

It is crucial for policy makers to have good intelligence because it is only with good intelligence will a policymaker be able to make fair policies after considering all alternatives at hand. A policymaker needs to be able to foresee, predict and be reasonable at the same time and this is only possible with good intelligence. Failure to make proper policies is often blamed on poor intelligence of policy makers. Basically, policy makers need to perform the following two activities which requires greater cognition:

1) Forecast accuracy.

2) Communication of uncertainty.

These higher cognitive tasks requires good intelligence. Many policy makers have intelligence officers set aside to help them in the decision making process.