A few weeks ago, I tried to come up with the perfect piece of advice to leave you all with today. Something profound. Something memorable. Something that would make a good caption for an Instagram post. But what worthwhile advice could I possibly have to give? And what would qualify me, of all people, to deliver three minutes of unsolicited advice to a class like this? Then it hit me: nothing! So instead of mine, take these words of advice from a man who’s got a few more years under his belt: JB Pritzker.

Pritzker says that if you want to be successful in this world, you have to develop your very own idiot detection system. Now, I’ll be honest—when I heard that for the first time, I was confident the best idiot detection system was asking people what they thought of SpongeBob. Because anyone who can’t appreciate the brilliance of that show has to have a few screws loose. But even I’ll admit: that’s probably not the most reliable method.

Pritzker’s is better. He says, “The best way to spot an idiot? Look for the person who is cruel.”

Here’s his reasoning. When we encounter someone who doesn’t look like us, sound like us, act like us, love like us, or live like us, the first thought that crosses almost everyone’s mind is rooted in fear or judgment, or both. That’s evolution. We survived as a species by being suspicious of the unfamiliar. But being kind requires us to shut down that animal instinct and force our brain down a more sophisticated path.

Empathy is an evolved state of being. It takes a great deal of mental fortitude to step past our most primal urges. And I know that sounds counterintuitive, because our culture lately has started treating cruelty like a power move—like it’s some sign of strength or strategic genius. But when someone’s path through this world is defined by cruelty, they’ve failed the first test of an advanced society. They never pushed their brain past its first instinct. And their thinking will lack the imagination and creativity that the kindest people have in spades.

But what do I know? I’m a student just like you, so take this for what it’s worth. But maybe Pritzker’s got it right. Maybe the kindest person in a room really is the smartest. And if that’s true, then I think this class has a lot to offer the world.