April 27, 2026: The Wisdom Gap

Are you familiar with the Manhattan Project?

It was a secret research and development program during World War II. That’s how the United States built the first nuclear weapons: a uranium bomb (“Little Boy”) and a plutonium bomb (“Fat Man”).

The weapons struck Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, forcing Japan’s surrender and the end of the war. Those shocking moments marked the start of the nuclear age. The Manhattan Project changed warfare forever, sparking a controversy the world still hasn’t resolved.

There’s a big difference between intelligence and wisdom. The Project had no shortage of intelligent people, but wisdom arrived late and haunted the aftermath. Intelligence asks, “Can we?” but Wisdom asks, “Should we?” 

Always let wisdom do what intelligence cannot: ask the harder questions and hold the longer view.