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We are The Best & The Brightest, and our name has given rise to the rumour that we are arrogant pricks. We are, in fact, arrogant pricks - but our name has a more complex nature than what a strictly litterate interpretation would suggest. The name derives from a book by the journalist David Halberstram about the Kennedy Administration. JFK summoned leaders of industry and academia and brought them into his administration under the parole "you can't beat brains". Through over 500 interviews Halberstram collected information about how this "American Elite" operated, and how their blunders eventually led America into Vietnam, the war that could not be won. As a result, the term "the best and the brightest" is today more of an insult than a compliment. In this respect our choice of name represents an admittance of the fact that even we are capable of making mistakes. We are great, but yet we are humble.
