Death of Expertise pt 1

Question 1

What is the nature of the death of expertise

Answer 1

pride in ignorance, distrust and lack of respect for experts, need to be right to fuel our own egos, media and that anyone can say anything or learn anything leads ppl to believe they are experts when they’re not

Question 2

why should we be concerned of the death of expertise

Answer 2

the rejection of existing knowledge, science, and rationality , on which our modern civilization was founded upon, can cause death and great harm

Question 3

is disdain for expertise new?

Answer 3

no, just amplified by internet, conflict btwn experts and lay ppl inevitable and will escalate and the gap between the 2 grows

Question 4

are low levels of info new?

Answer 4

no, tocqueville theorizes american democracy promotes distrust of intellectual authority and appeal of info only to oneseslf, information overwhelms us, low levels of knowledge

Question 5

what’s different today about attitudes toward experts

Answer 5

always low level of knowledge and trust in experts, but now more hostility towards knowledge, cool to be ignorant, and ppls refusal to be wrong , being wrong = being stupid

Question 6

what is expertise

Answer 6

difficult to define, but the command of a subject so that info provided is true and can be trusted, knowing considerably more than avg person. found in people who we turn to when we need advice, education, solutions in a certain subject

Question 7

how is expertise developed

Answer 7

starts w formal training and education, signals of quality, aptitude/natural talent, longevity, experience- develop intuition and wisdom
furthered w acceptance of evaluation/correction by others and learning from mistakes

Question 8

expertise v knowledge

Answer 8

knowing v understanding, comprehension v complete analysis, knowledge easily obtained, expertise is developed

Question 9

what is dunning kruger effect, what explains it

Answer 9

the dumber you are, the more confident you are that you’re not dumb
dumb people lack metacognituon which is the ability to step back, observe what ur doing wrong, and realizing it’s wrong, basically self awareness
least competent least likely to know they’re wrong and learn from it, most likely to fake they’re right

Question 10

what is confirmation bias

Answer 10

tendency to look only for info that confirms are own beliefs and dismiss info that challenges them

Question 11

why are we all susceptible to confirmation bias

Answer 11

survival mechanism: gripped by irrational fear rather than irrational optimism

Question 12

what helps scientists avoid confirmation bias

Answer 12

trained on recognizing bias, negative result still a result
most important: peer review process

Question 13

what are conspiracy theories

Answer 13

intricate manipulative ways of explaining things by ignoring logical solutions (occams razor) and manipulate all evidence to support their theory

Question 14

why are conspiracy theories problematic in knowledge and politics

Answer 14

increasingly prevalent, fueled by tragic events , can produce moral panic, innocents get hurt, produces distrust, can’t really argue them

Question 15

generalization

Answer 15

probabilistic statements based on observable fact - measurable, verifyable

Question 16

stereotypes

Answer 16

not predictions but conclusions , eg generalization immigrants are more likely to not know english, stereotype, all immigrants don’t know english

Question 17

what is equality bias and how does it play out

Answer 17

ppl give each other fair hearing and weigh all opinions equally even when everyone involved knows substantial diffs in competence, based on need to fit into a group, more competent advocates for others answers
applications: bad for recognizing and accepting truths, fake cultural literacy, move debates from research to democratic choice, bad bc foundational beliefs and polarization

Question 18

how have colleges and unis contributed to public’s problematic attitudes abt knowledge and expertise

Answer 18

degree means substantially less, you can get a degree and not be qualified to argue w expert, but bc you have a degree you think you are

Question 19

what’s critical thinking, why don’t schools guarantee it

Answer 19

critical thinking: the ability to examine new info, competing ideas logically and without emotion or personal preconceptions
college is commodified, no longer guarantees college education but college experience