(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The myth of expertise [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-01 Expert: “a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area.” Authoritative: “able to be trusted as being accurate or true; reliable.” A headline in the Jerusalem Post proclaims: “ Alien expert: They don't come in peace ”. The story reports the opinions of Malcolm Robinson, who the paper calls “one of the leading alien experts in Britain”. And, to establish his bona fides crow that Robinson has written: “over ten books on the subject, after analyzing lots of incidents connected with aliens during the last decades.” I grant you that Robinson has devoted a career to his subject, but how can you claim to be an expert on something for which there is no solid evidence? Statistically, there is likely life beyond the Earth. But to date, the “evidence” presented for that life traveling here — and that it is intelligent — is anecdotes by people who claim to have been abducted by ETs. By pictures of as yet inexplicable sky phenomena. And because Robinson claims “we can see it in Renaissance paintings and ancient cave paintings, these strange shapes and beings." Robinson’s expertise is not in aliens but in collecting and cataloging these stories and photos of supposed alien visitations. It is like being an ancient Greek and calling yourself an expert on volcanoes because many people have told you they are workshops of the gods. This is not to pooh-pooh aliens — extraterrestrials are taken seriously by the scientific community. Well-educated, sober-minded scientists have pursued the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) for over a century. Legendary astronomer Carl Sagan was among others who founded The Planetary Society , whose brief, in part, was to look for distant galactic life. We can either chuckle at or embrace Robinson’s enthusiasm. But either way, it is of small importance and has little impact — unlike politics, which significantly affects the quality and even length of people’s lives. And as anyone who has ever listened to a politician knows, they consider themselves experts in everything — with even less reason than Robinson. The most common pre-congressional experience of US Representatives is a political position, typically a state representative or municipal official — followed by business, the law, and education. None of these would seem to confer expertise in economics, fiscal policy, immigration, business regulation, transportation, or geopolitics. A common claim by business people entering politics is that their background gives them economic expertise. But the only overlap between business and economics is that they involve money. But to think you are an expert in economic/fiscal matters because you own a construction company is to believe that you can fly a plane because you are good at flying kites. Relevant jobs for an aspiring DC politico are Governor, high-ranking general, CEO of a large charity, or city school district administrator — all because they have run large non-profits. On the other hand, commercial business owners/managers, charged with making money for themselves and their equity holders, are ill-equipped to manage government budgets. Consider the GOPs' wannabe cost accountants wringing their hands while explaining they have to slash Social Security to restore fiscal health. When companies fire employees, those workers can look for a job at a different company. Seniors can rarely restore lost income by moving to another country. Politicians do not have to be experts — as long as they listen to people who are. Abraham Lincoln is considered an outstanding President, in part because he appointed people who knew more than he did (Doris Kearns Goodwin called them his ‘ Team of Rivals ’) But how many politicians emulate Abe? Conservatives disparage expertise as an ivory tower luxury. And dismiss science — e.g. climate change and vaccinations — as a conspiracy by George Soros, Bill Gates, and socialists. This limited thinking gave us the War on Drugs and the most inglorious boondoggle in US history, the Border Wall — both hugely expensive and pointless wastes of money. We should not be surprised. Some politicians say that cutting taxes creates more revenue. And giving money to the wealthy makes the poor richer. Do they honestly believe that? I would not be surprised if many do. As Upton Sinclair observed, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” And in the case of politicians, you can add “when his political donations depend ...” Most political positions spring from wishful thinking that something was so. And having decided what policy feels good to them, the expedient politician will track down ‘experts’ who support their views. Or declare that there are experts who validate their position without naming who they are. This convenient expertise infects the media and casual conversation. I cannot count the number of cable TV's so-called legal experts, but I guarantee the talking heads are not running out of that commodity soon. That your drunk uncle thinks he knows everything is not a national problem. But the fact that many American politicans have no ability or desire to create fact-informed policies based on sober consideration has led to a country where some seriously believe that arming school teachers will make school kids safer. And where the economy is at the mercy of know-nothing fiscal terrorists auditioning for Fox News jobs. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/1/2150336/-The-myth-of-expertise Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/