The First Law of Experts
Seems like EVERYONE is an expert nowadays. The talking head on the television is an expert. Your neighbor down the street is an expert. Your barber or hairdresser is an expert. Your twelve-year-old with her iPhone in her hand or pressed against her ear is an expert, and so on and so forth!
Here’s the law:
“On any subject one can find a minimum of twelve, world-renowned experts who can cite irrefutable, documented, empirical evidence to support arguments which are diametrically opposed to one another.”
Think about it. Name any subject. Do a search on it. You will receive a zillion “hits” ranging from complete and utter nonsense to what just may be real, valuable information. It’s frequently difficult to tell the difference!
Take, for example, the subject of vaccinations and the controversy over whether they cause autism. Or, how about mammograms, or PSA tests for prostate cancer? What about whether or not holding cell phones to our ears causes brain tumors?
How about a really critical subject like, say, “strawberry jam”. Do a search on this very important food group and in .51 seconds you will get 7,500,000 “hits” (no kidding!). Among them you will find scholarly articles from experts on how to make it, the best ways to use it recipes, discussions on preserves vs. jam vs. jellies and whether they’re interchangeable…you get the idea.
How about the serious topic of healthcare. One would hope that visiting several doctors for an upper respiratory infection would result in similar diagnoses, prognoses and prescriptions. But it’s possible, perhaps even likely, that there will be significant variation in what one doc says versus another, ranging from “take two aspirin and call me in the morning” to ” let’s run blood tests to ensure you don’t have tuberculosis,” to “I’m going to order an MRI to rule out a structural anomaly in your lungs.”
So, there’s a corollary to the First Law of Experts. It goes like this.
Corollary 1 to the First Law of Experts
“Only listen to those whom you trust and apply critical thinking of your own to ascertain what’s right for YOU.”
In other words, in these times of information overload, be skeptical of experts, trust your own judgement and don’t allow yourself to be misled by broad generalizations or people who have ulterior motives like their own interests at heart.
