"But, as Huemer points out, we cannot operate that way. There is no way that I can personally verify every hypothesis about the world. Instead, I decide which people to trust about particular topics."
It's not that hard to logically work out whether what most "experts" are claiming is likely or actually true or false. When it comes to mor…
"But, as Huemer points out, we cannot operate that way. There is no way that I can personally verify every hypothesis about the world. Instead, I decide which people to trust about particular topics."
It's not that hard to logically work out whether what most "experts" are claiming is likely or actually true or false. When it comes to more complex things, or things outside your ability to determine, you can almost always look at the track record for honesty and accuracy for individuals and institutions. If that's not available, history provides some guidance. What remains is the leading edge of research, which usually has very little bearing on your day to day life.
The problem isn't the ability to determine whether or not an institution or person is lying or not. It's the courage to face the fact that most of them are bold-faced liars and what that means for you and those you care about.
Apparently, most people are gutless cowards, and will pay the price for that cowardice.
I don't need to be expert on respiratory viruses to be skeptical of homemade masks stopping the transmission of such viruses. And when I see the "experts" promote cloth masks to stop a respiratory virus I can then discern that the entirety of their advice is questionable.
Common sense is very helpful in navigating a complex world. But one needs to have the courage to use common sense, and not defer to the expert narrative.
"But, as Huemer points out, we cannot operate that way. There is no way that I can personally verify every hypothesis about the world. Instead, I decide which people to trust about particular topics."
It's not that hard to logically work out whether what most "experts" are claiming is likely or actually true or false. When it comes to more complex things, or things outside your ability to determine, you can almost always look at the track record for honesty and accuracy for individuals and institutions. If that's not available, history provides some guidance. What remains is the leading edge of research, which usually has very little bearing on your day to day life.
The problem isn't the ability to determine whether or not an institution or person is lying or not. It's the courage to face the fact that most of them are bold-faced liars and what that means for you and those you care about.
Apparently, most people are gutless cowards, and will pay the price for that cowardice.
I don't need to be expert on respiratory viruses to be skeptical of homemade masks stopping the transmission of such viruses. And when I see the "experts" promote cloth masks to stop a respiratory virus I can then discern that the entirety of their advice is questionable.
Common sense is very helpful in navigating a complex world. But one needs to have the courage to use common sense, and not defer to the expert narrative.