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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 7/19/20

Trusting the experts

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Message Mike Zimmer

Is this person creative? Is the practitioner able to think outside the box, to think laterally?

I consider open-mindedness an aspect of intelligence. How open-minded are they? How close-minded? How willing is the expert to consider other points of view? How stubborn are they? This is a character trait, but it may influence intelligent thinking. When an expert is wrong, they will often hold fast to their dogma beyond all reason.

Knowledge

What is the depth of training and experience of the expert in his specialty? How well does the expert understand the body of knowledge of his discipline? How well does the expert understand the methods of his discipline?

Does he go back and refresh his knowledge at frequent intervals? How current is his knowledge?

What is the breadth of knowledge in other areas, maybe outside of the discipline, in other fields that may be of relevance? How generally broadly educated, well rounded, is the individual?

Experience and Judgment

How much experience has the expert had in trying things out in the world, to see if the theory is actually applicable? There are theory smart experts with no practical experience. How much real world smarts, as opposed to academic smarts does the expert possess? How sound is the judgment, how much common sense is evident for this person?

Careerism

How much money, prestige, or careerism are associated with the discipline? Some professions are notorious for attracting careerists. People only interested in career advantage may give short shrift to serving others. They may sacrifice integrity in order to advance their careers. Also, see the incentives section.

Integrity

Personal integrity, including honesty and self-honesty, make for a better world. Some experts are mostly honest, and some are mostly dishonest. There are those who routinely deceive, lie, shill, con others and generally show sociopathic or even psychopathic behaviour. There are others who believe in fair dealing, and work hard to show personal integrity.

Theory blind experts

Experts may be unable to see things outside of the bounds of the theories espoused by the discipline. I call this being "theory-blind."

The Incentives

The incentives and disincentives operating on the individual and on the collective are a huge factor in shaping the judgment of the expert. "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" - Attributed to Upton Sinclair

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Father and husband, free thinker, with a libertarian socialist bent, published writer, essayist, retired information systems consultant, former experimental psychology graduate student, martial arts teacher, writer of tunes, guitar teacher, (more...)
 

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