Do you have any specific references? I’ve often wondered if human level intelligence might inevitably be plagued by human level neurosis and psychosis.
Sorry, fuzzy memory. I was going to write "six months", that's what stuck with me.
Not one of the mainline "Known Space" stories, if it was Niven at all. Maybe the suggestion about Frank Herbert in another comment is right, I also read a lot by him besides Dune - I particularly appreciated the Bureau of Sabotage concept ...