How Good is Your Judgment?

Imagine this situation. You know a woman who has 8 children. Three of her children are deaf, two are blind and one is mentally retarded. She suffers from syhilis. Would you advise her to have no more children? If you learnt that she was pregnant would you recommend that she have an abortion?

Now try this question. It is time to elect a new national leader. There are three candidates and here are fhe facts about each

Candidate A: He associates with crooked politicians and consults with astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B: He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a bottle of whisky every evening.

Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He is a vegetarian who doesn't smoke. He drinks an occasional beer and has never committed adultery.

Which of these candidates would be your choice?

Decide first and then scroll down for the response.

We are conditioned to look for certain ideals in our families, our societies and our leaders. The media investigate the personal lives of politicians and relish finding faults and failures. It seems natural that we want a leader who is flawless in every respect. Now let's look at the questions.

The carefully chosen descriptions were of Candidate A, Franklin D Roosevelt; Candidate B, Winston Churchill and Candidate C, Adolf Hitler. Who did you choose?

If you advised the woman to have an abortion then you just prevented the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven, possibly the most brilliant and influential composer in history.

These two celebrated questions were deliberately constructed to catch you out. But they make the point; don't assume that everyone has to conform.

Paul Sloane writes and speaks on lateral thinking and innovation. He is the author of How to be a Brilliant Thinker.

http://www.destination-innovation.com