Experts Say You Should Read This

It doesn't matter much which news source you listen to, they're all addicted to the, “Experts say....” gimmick. “Security experts say malicious hackers have....” (CNN) “...what some experts say is a growing fear....” (FOX) And on and on ad nauseam.

Undoubtedly they have well-explained reasons for doing this. One excuse is that much of their audience does not particularly care to be bothered by such details as sourcing. Much of their audience prefers to believe that the news personalities they read or listen to are themselves the experts who say....

The corporate news industry is very aware of this. “The most trusted name in news” is a CNN slogan often repeated. To their credit, they don't falsely advertise that they can actually be trusted to report honest facts. Instead they, like all other major news networks, have invested accountant-scrutinized monies into promoting their talking heads as celebrities. And they've hired the best stage designers, graphic artists, and pshrinks to design and adorn their newscast projections with a stunning contemporary pizzazz that intimidates the viewer into a submissive state of acceptance.

None of this goes against the practice of becoming an expert in something. Expert is expected. Expert is what one fervently strives for after graduating university or when beginning any profession. Being an expert means having become good at what one does.

An expert is also someone who is knowledgeable in some area. Which assumes, rightly or wrongly, said expert has considerable experience in observing the results (evidence) of this knowledge. The tendency is also to believe that an expert has achieved a level of capability (skillful how-to) so as to substantiate conclusions made and publicized. So what's the rift?

The reality of it all. It has, in fact, been the experts who've delivered to our society such atrocities as blood-letting, opium-laden elixirs, mercury-based medicines, transorbital lobotomy, Vioxx and asbestos shingles.

The problem evolves from, among other things, the “result-lag” of products. For example, an expert aviation engineer would be expected to design airplanes that didn't fall out of the sky. But rarely does the final product of an expert garner real observation from the end user. The aviation engineer, for instance, may have only spent half of several years actually designing his plane, and the rest of his time ego-blathering to his fans and financiers. Furthermore, even if the plane is eventually built, its faults may not show up immediately. And when the plane does fall out of the sky? There are yet years of study and investigation to find out what went wrong. More ominously, there are plenty of associates and underlings that can be blamed and promotional campaigns to spread the seeds of doubt and muddy the whole affair to such a point that the only consequence for the faulty expert is that he gets a big promotion because of so much publicity

The product lag of skilled workers is usually more instantaneous. A plumber fixes the pipes; turns the water back on; and either it leaks or it doesn't. This observable fact tends to keep the plumber honest. On the far end of the product lag would be our forensic experts. Nearly all high-end (read, “expensive”) court battles involve expert witnesses for both sides. Each opposing side makes a believable case for their client, because they are professional experts. Their facts are spun to represent their client's needs. Their end product, however, remains illusive. Because they are the experts we are supposed to simply believe. But, contrary facts can never both be true.

You head a big oil company and want to discredit growing evidence of global warming? No problem. Dangle the golden carrot and without fail, a few “scientists” will come running, willing to support any viewpoint you choose. And a few “experts” repeating the same message, especially given access to big media, is all that it takes to spread the doubt.

It's a complicated world. We no longer trek down to the shoemaker who so expertly made our father's shoes. No, we look instead for the branding swish or some such logo  shoes made by nameless people in nameless factories in unknown cities in far-away countries we'd rather not think about.

There is no magic bullet for a society that's lost trust in itself, where moral standards are too often trumped by an opportunity for a quick buck and meaningful reform is defined by a lobbyist's gift.

But when outfits which purport to deliver real news tell us what experts say without also telling us which experts, by name, they are thumbing their noses at our apathy.