“Suppose you have a thoughtless six-year-old. What harm can he do?” I paused, unsure what sort of answer he wanted. Straightforward would probably be best. “Not much.” “Suppose he’s twenty, and still thoughtless, how dangerous is he?” I decided to stick with the obvious answers. “Still not much, but more than before.” “What if you give him a sword?” Realization started to dawn on me, and I closed my eyes. “More, much more. I understand, Ben. Really I do. Power is okay, and stupidity is usually harmless. Power and stupidity together are dangerous.” “I never said stupid,” Ben corrected me.
...more
