Mass-level genius cannot substitute for specific local knowledge

Evidence

Moses had a genius for grasping the needs of people in the mass, of people in the tens and hundreds of thousands, of a city and a state as a whole, and for devising ways to meet those needs. But that genius could not help him grasp the needs of a specific city neighborhood in which he was building a small park or playground, for those needs might be shared by no other neighborhood in the world. … In the first place, the people in the mass that he understood were people of a particular social strata that his own background enabled him to understand: the classes he called “upper” and “comfortable middle.” He had never had any interest in—and therefore had little understanding of—classes he considered beneath his own, the classes who made up so many of New York City’s neighborhoods. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 2064

Categorization

• XREF: Foreshadows-and-contradicts an earlier chapter claim that ‘Great administrators are made by tools, not born with instinct’ — here the limits are social, not technical. — connects to: A brilliant mind degrades when it closes itself to all input — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 2082; Much human knowledge resists explicit prescription and can only be transmitted by example — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 281; Mastering a theory’s principles alone does not ensure correct application (+4 more)
• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source

Broader Connections

• Quantitative sophistication alone cannot replace local market knowledge and culture. #exemplifies (0.95) — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 974
• Mastering a theory’s principles alone does not ensure correct application #expands (0.90)
• Some kinds of understanding cannot be transferred, only cultivated #expands (0.88) — , The Rod and the Child, 3945
• Much human knowledge resists explicit prescription and can only be transmitted by example #expands (0.85) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 281
• Expertise in one domain does not prevent stereotyped thinking in others #exemplifies (0.85) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1159
• Intellectually brilliant academics can be unable to train successors #expands (0.80) — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing, 441