"When this old world starts getting you down / and people are just too much for you to take / Just log right on to the top of GoogleNews / And search to see what all the "experts say"
This morning we find:
One thing Smart People value above truth, you see, is the entrenched authority of experts. The NIE was an official document, produced by official people, by experts, therefore it was correct and everyone had an obligation to bow to its findings. The prospect of people not believing an official document such as the NIE at the time it was issued was more frightening to Smart People than the possibility that the NIE was actually false (which Smart People didn't really care about).
The reason Smart Peoples’ priorities are this way is because Smart People know that they, and people who think like them, can control the processes, politics, and official pathways that produce documents such as the NIE. This is the same reason Smart People are threatened by Fox News and other outlets that aren’t “real journalism”: because Smart People control journalism schools and the journalistic establishment, but they don’t control Fox News, Free Republic, or blogs. Similarly, Smart People control the ‘peer review’ processes by which Global Warming papers are accepted and anti-Global Warming papers are rejected, so they constantly strive to ensure that only these products are accepted as truth (regardless of whether they are).Posted by Vanderleun at January 3, 2010 7:19 AM
"Experts most likely to point out obvious generalities and utter banal platitudes," experts say.
Posted by: Matt Burchett at January 3, 2010 8:40 AMWho the hell are these experts, and how can we get rid of them?
Posted by: Jewel at January 3, 2010 9:08 AMOur local rag - aka "newspaper" - always uses "Experts say" when introducing an AP wire story.
Needless to say, the local rag doesn't even make good puppy training paper.
But the NYTimes Sunday edition had that going for it...expert dogs said...
Posted by: Good Ole Charlie at January 3, 2010 9:18 AMHey, I'll tell you what- You need an expert opinion? I got 'em for you. I am setting up shop as an officially sanctioned high ranking expert opinionator. If you need an expert opinion on anything from astro physics, to '62 Fords I can hook you up.
for a fee, that is...
JWM
Posted by: jwm at January 3, 2010 12:09 PMHahahahaha.
The only thing better than an expert in the news is a team of experts working on the Discovery Channel. I especially admire the UFO team with the aviator shades and UFO baseball hat, and the ghost hunting team with all the electronic gear and the ESP medium with the shakey voice.
They are so cool, totally believable, definitely experts.
Posted by: dr kill at January 3, 2010 2:57 PMI used to teach a research paper class to freshman at a local community college.
After guiding them through some fundamental logic and argumentation, I then moved on to evidence (gathering and disputing thereof). I taught them to consider anonymous and non-quantitative citing of "expert" opinion to be next to worthless in terms of making an argument, and always a point of attack in disputing one.
Until the experts are named, and their credibility and potential conflicts of interest assessed, and until their opinions can be measured against others in their field (do they represent 5% of those in their field? 50%? 90%), don't bother giving the citation credence.
I used to teach a research paper class to freshman at a local community college.
After guiding them through some fundamental logic and argumentation, I then moved on to evidence (gathering and disputing thereof). I taught them to consider anonymous and non-quantitative citing of "expert" opinion to be next to worthless in terms of making an argument, and always a point of attack in disputing one.
Until the experts are named, and their credibility and potential conflicts of interest assessed, and until their opinions can be measured against others in their field (do they represent 5% of those in their field? 50%? 90%), don't bother giving the citation credence.
It was a day or two after 9/11 and some Ivy League suit came on TV with the crawl describing him as an "Expert on Middle East Terror," and I thought to myself no, the REAL experts on Middle East Terror just brought down four jetliners.
Posted by: Ed at January 3, 2010 4:28 PMThat professorial dude at the top looks like a distinguished Keith Olbermann. Which is a contradiction in terms.
Posted by: Gagdad Bob at January 3, 2010 6:25 PM"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated to combat spam and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.
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