Many years ago people tend to believe bureaucrats or civil servants are 'excellent', smarter than them, because they know almost all civil servants are elites, chosen passed through very competitive test.

Once I had a chance to see a test of civil servants. I was unable to answer any questions at all, all questions were academic, or even pedantic, far from our common knowledge at all, plain description and many questions, superficial, that doesn't require deeper knowledge.

Apparently those who intend to be a civil servant are not required to read many books. All they have to do is to know the name of author, what book they wrote and simple description of the contents of what they wrote.

They are forbidden to think anything deeper. Instead they are required to transact bureaucratically