The folly of winners

Prof Halberstam has an interesting insight regarding the Vietmam War. This was a waste on many levels so why did the government run by the "best and the brightest" keep fighting and expanding what was clearly a losing endeavor. He says the these men were super achievers and they couldn't conceive that they were making a mistake since they were always successful and never failed. So they simply kept doing what they had planned with increased effort.

This applies in the spiritual realm also. The Baal Shem notes that Jesus and Adam are together in Hell because both thought they were god like and thus infallible.  As we see also with the Spies anf Korach. 

Wisdom comes from experiencing and learning from failure. One who is always very successful at some point stops thinking he might be making a mistake and ends up doing something really stupid. Pride comes before the fall.