Dear Editor,

Writer Robert Mitchell’s letter to the editor in the Daily Observer of December 16, 2014, titled ‘Benefits and loyalty determines Jamaican votes, not education’, is a perfect example of why education should not be confused with intelligence. Education leads to intelligence, but just because one is educated does not mean that one is intelligent.

I assume that Mitchell is an educated man. To quote the writer “…the voter perceives there is a benefit to be had by voting one way or another…”. In response, I say if voters were more educated their minds would be exposed to more concepts and they would consider a wider range of issues when thinking on things, as that is what they are now trained to do. This would then allow them to view things more discerningly, and their perception of “benefits” would change from “…a ‘nanny’ ($500), a dozen chickens, or Christmas work…”.

In particular, they would think about what would happen to them after the $500 has been spent and then weigh the costs/benefits of that against the value of what they are receiving in the short-term.

Unfortunately, as Mitchell has demonstrated, the problem sometimes lies in the use to which the education is put. Acquiring greater knowledge (education) should lead to more thoughtful decisions when assessing and solving problems (intelligence) but that is not always the case.

Dudley Peter Barrett

dudleypbarrett@yahoo.com