For example, instead of outsourcing more call centres to India or other developing countries, companies might employ people in America or Europe who have good practical knowledge of products or services and can deal with inquiries from home.

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On the contrary, procedures that rely on the statement of explicit reasons systematically exclude those individuals who are less able to engage in the articulate persuasion of majorities but who may still possess valuable knowledge embodied in the exercise of entrepreneurship, a practical skill or adherence to a particular ethical code.

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The selection process puts socially defined characteristics, such as the outsized reputation of an executive like Mr Dimon, ahead of relevant practical skills and experience (Mr Dimon had little knowledge of retail banking or credit-card operations, two of Bank One's biggest and, in the second case, most problematic businesses).

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Given the vulnerability of paper and print before the arrival of the internet, it is not surprising that those who valued the transmission of information over time included oral or experiential transmission of skills in all kinds of hands-on, practical settings among the sources of lasting knowledge to be treasured.

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