"... then he was either A, too naive or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a ship like this." Okay, you gave us 'A.' Now ... what happened to 'B'?
Probably: "... then he was either A, too naïve
, or B, too stupid
, to be a commanding officer of a ship like this."
A forgivable error, not worth attacking.
See, that's what editors are for.
One thing I would query the writer about in a margin note is the conceptual similarity between "naïve" and "stupid." Substitute, delete, or stet? Perhaps use "and" instead of "
or?"
See, now, you ain't never gonna get no computerized editing system to suggest all that nohow.
At least not yet.
Terry, 230EN