Richard, I don't actually believe philosophers are idiots because I've seen their standardized test scores. I do think they could more productively use their intellects though. If I were to ignore IQ/general intelligence and simply try to judge whether one philosopher does better philosophizing than another, would I be able to do it without becoming a philosopher myself and judging their arguments? I can determine that rocket physicists are good at what they do because they successfully send rockets in the air, I know brain surgeons are because the brains they operate on end up with the behavior they promise. I can't think of anything I would hire a philosopher for, other than teaching a philosophy course. So is the merit of philosophy an entirely circular thing or is there a heuristic the non-philosopher layman can use that will let him know he should pay more attention to philosophers than palm-readers?