human nature and mistakes

A quote of a conversation from Tom Clancy's "The Bear and the Dragon":

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Reilly smiled for his new friend. "Oleg, do you ever make a mistake?"

The Russian grunted. "At least once a day."

"So why do you think they're [reference to an unknown criminal] any smarter than you are?" the FBI agent asked. "Everybody makes mistakes. I don't care if he's driving a garbage truck or President of the fucking United States. We all fuck up every so often. It's just part of being human. Thing is, if you recognize that fact, you can make it a lot further. Maybe this guy's been well trained, but we all have weaknesses, and we're not all smart enough to acknowledge them, and the smarter we are, the less likely we are to acknowledge them."

"You are a philosopher," Provalov said with a grin. He liked this American. They were of a kind, as though the gypsies had switched babies at birth or something.

"Maybe, but you know the difference between a wise man and a fool?"

"I am sure you will tell me." Provalov knew hot to spot pontification half a block away, and the one approaching had flashing red lights on the roof.

"The difference between a wise man and a fool is the magnitude of his mistakes. You don't trust a fool with anything important...But a wise man you do, and so the fool doesn't have the chance to make a big screwup, while the wise man does. Oleg, a private can't lose a battle, but a general can. Generals are smart right? You have to be real smart to be a doc, but docs kill people by accident all the time. It is the nature of man to make mistakes, and brains and training dont matter a rat-fuck. I make 'em. You make 'em."
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