Even this nongenius could tell right away that that 17 percent share was disproportionately high for a city that has less than 3 percent of the U.S. population. Nor was this year exceptional. A MacArthur analysis of its 457 fellows from 1981 to 1995 showed that 93, or 20 percent, lived in New York state, with most coming from this city. Keep in mind that California has 32 million people compared with New York's 18 million. Let's not fool ourselves.
Geographical happenstance is an important factor.
Regardless of where they are born, creative people tend to flock to cities, and this country's largest magnets are university centers on either coast, New York included. Still, the point is that this is a town with no shortage of mega-brains. That question looms larger than ever now that the melodrama over rent regulations has put Albany's shortcomings so harshly in the spotlight. The answer is that of course we have the smarts to come up with something more efficient. The Constitution requires that voters be asked every 20 years if they want to hold a constitutional convention, known to lovers of shorthand as a con-con.