Do Stupid People Know They're Stupid?

I have a minor interest in physics.. because it might hold the key to our very existence.. and so I like to read news stories about the latest super-collider, or some new discovery, or look at pictures of a brand new supernova. It's really interesting stuff.

As an aside - it seems some people are concerned that CERN is going to create a mini-black hole, that will slowly engulf our planet. Not to worry though, as Stephen Hawking has calculated that very small black holes evaporate nearly instantaneously. So.. we're safe.. probably.

It's fun to read the wiki on famous physicists, because it invariably leads to more and more articles that are interesting. You can start with Albert Einstein, and end up going backwards in time as you traverse the wiki links to people and ideas that had an influence on him. You can wiki Stephen Hawking and do the same thing, with a more modern edge.

The thing is, as I'm reading, I sometimes understand the concept quite clearly, and sometimes I can't make heads nor tails of it. I'm quite aware that Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking are not trivially smarter than I am. They're a LOT smarter than I am.

And so.. that brings me to the political implications of this.

Are stupid people smart enough to be able to make a comparison between their intellect and somebody else's and know their relative position?

I ask this because Doug clearly does not think Barack Obama a very bright guy.. going so far as to call him an "idiot", despite all of Obama's academic achievements, as well as his professional career, and ability to communicate effectively.

I know that Obama is quite a bit brighter than I am.. guessing about 20% or so.. and I like that. I want a President who is quite a bit brighter than myself. I like the "intellectual elite", not as a figure of worship, but because you can appreciate their intellect by looking at their work.. as you would Einstein or Hawking.

I'd estimate that I'm about on par with John McCain.. and I'm quite a bit brighter than George Bush.

Still, I wonder why the "every-man" wants an every-man president, and why the media (particularly Chris Matthews) keeps thinking that to be true? If Stephen Hawking ran for president (assuming he wasn't a Brit), I'd vote for him.