I don't think this is necessarily a sign of them not being smart. I mean it could be, but it could also not be. What it is a sign of is that their incentive st

I don't think this is necessarily a sign of them not being smart. I mean it could be, but it could also not be. What it is a sign of is that their incentive structures (their motivation) do not align 100% with those of the project. They might be more interested to learn and try new stuff, than to find the most maintainable, simple and elegant solution for example. This does not make them less smart. And just because the participant's goals do not align with the project goals does not mean that this is bad. Such a project just needs someone who is aware of those individual goals and tries to defend the project against them while offering them sufficent opportunities to stay motivated.