Hayek on Intellectuals

This is a straight steal, but too good not to be stolen:

The typical intellectual . . . need not possess special knowledge of anything in particular, nor need he even be particularly intelligent, to perform his role as intermediary in the spreading of ideas. What qualifies him for his job is the wide range of subjects on which he can readily talk and write, and a position or habits through which he becomes acquainted with new ideas sooner than those to whom he addresses himself.

...from Friedrich August von Hayek, “The Intellectuals and Socialism,” published in 1949, via this guy.