Why We Need Experts
In a 2015 poll, 30% of Republicans and 19% of Democrats supported bombing Agrabah, the fictional hometown of the Disney character Aladdin. In a similar vein, a 2014 poll found that the less people knew about where Ukraine is located on a map, the more they wanted the U.S. to intervene militarily.
To make matters worse, another study done by researchers at Ohio State University found that when confronted with scientific evidence that conflicted with their pre-existing views, such as the reality of climate change or the safety of vaccines, partisans would not only reject the evidence, but become hostile and question the objectivity of science.
It’s become fashionable in certain circles to dismiss experts. Yet as the Coronavirus crisis has shown us, we ignore expertise at our peril. The reason we need professionals with specialized knowledge, however, isn’t so that we can outsource our decisions to them. Rather, we need experts to help us ask better questions, explore options and to make better judgments.
A World Of Increasing Complexity
It’s no secret that our world is becoming increasingly complex. So it shouldn’t be surprising that many harken for a simpler existence in which we can rely on parochial observations and good old-fashioned common sense. Complexity makes us feel powerless, because it creates a world…
