Depends on the situation; in the presence of danger, I trust the person with the most information (and use various heuristics to assess who that is). The analys

Depends on the situation; in the presence of danger, I trust the person with the most information (and use various heuristics to assess who that is). The analysis you're suggesting is right (am I better off following), but in general that's just 'what is optimal to do' -- and that takes time to know. The implicit bargain in all power transactions is Sam Jackson's 'come with me if you want to live'. (where 'live' can be 'get rich', 'not go to jail', 'eat'). And there's never enough information or time to make a smart decision. Smart despots hoard information as much as guns, but even fair leaders have to choose what to say because of limited attention and TMI risks.