Being smart and having common sense don’t necessarily come in the same package.

Cases in point: Nurse Kaci Hickox and Dr. Nancy Snyderman (“Quarantine violation still clouds NBC medical editor’s credibility,” Oct. 20). Both wanted to do something good, unselfish and dangerous. It was something that would increase their value and, more than likely, their income.

But because they knew it all, both failed to consider that many people, including myself, would not jeopardize others’ lives because we don’t know everything about Ebola.

Voluntary quarantine for a couple of weeks would have increased their stock. Selective interviews would have made them appear even more heroic. But instead they were diagnosed with an acute case of “loss of common sense” – highly contagious.

Network executives and hospital administrators will have difficulty defending their actions. Why would a highly trained, experienced doctor and nurse do this? My guess is “loss of common sense.”

So when the phone doesn’t ring, and the employment opportunities shrink, the cure for “loss of common sense” will begin. It is self-administered – it’s called “experience.”

Tom Sawyer

Westbrook


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