I am so tired of supposed 'intelligent' people telling me that 'experts say' this and 'experts say' that or that a 'study' says or suggests something. Usually these experts and studies are referring to things which could be considered 'common sense' or which demands a change in one's perception, judgments, beliefs and behavior.
I did a Google News search for the exact phrase "experts say" and came back with 20,198 hits. The same search with "scientists say" comes back with 3691. Why is it that scientists and their opinions don't get the exposure that 'experts' do? This search is only in the 'News' section of Google. If you search within years, you can notice that the results have grown significantly over the decades. Here are some of the good ones I saw:
"Experts say anyone can be target of clever con artists" - thanks for that bit of 'clarity' - now what does this really say? It tells us be 'be on our guard' and to 'look out for ourselves' because 'danger' lurks around every corner and anyone can be a 'victim'. This is playing on the fears associated with property and security. Now with it being an 'expert' that conveys this message, it must be true and one must be afraid.
"Cold snap may do some agricultural harm, experts say" - crops may be affected by freezing? go figure. - An asinine way of create a 'faith' in what 'experts' say. They have to announce some 'obviousness' in order to appear legitimate as a whole.
"Experts say Africa has minimal influence over own development, destiny" - Africa is being plundered and shaped by other nations? No wait, it's 'destiny'; how 'mystic'. If something can be accepted as 'mystic' then little explanation or investigation is needed. One wouldn't want to go against 'destiny' or public consensus now would one?
"Reducing dependence on foreign oil will not happen overnight, experts say" - Getting us to believe that there is a normal, lengthy transition that will take place. Blindly accepting any 'restrictions' such as financial, conceding that it trumps sanity, humanity and morality.
"Standards needed for ski helmets, experts say" - with the picture of the dead celeb skier, nice touch, though there is no 'proof' that she died from the supposed fall.
Take the helmet, you have something that people will associate with death and safety for the children. There will be debates and studies and then there will be 'laws' to protect 'everyone'. Some will think "huh, not affecting me" and go on in oblivion until one day 'experts say helmets should be worn...' where ever they may be. When it finally affects them, it is too late because precedence has been set.
Keep us dumb but make us feel protected while projecting a sense of intelligence and of being 'informed'; this also creates the ego reactions which we all so frequently experience. The hurtfulness and sense of 'personal' attack which we feel is actually a 'reaction' brought about by the ego. We all want to be 'intelligent' and we parrot the things that we hear in order to portray that, all the while not really thinking, but rather, 'accepting' whatever the 'experts' tell us. The 'contradictions', such as 'Utopian dreams' and visions of real change, force us to look at the way that 'we' live and see the deficiencies therefore they seem to 'attack' the very way that 'we' live and our very 'intelligence'. There are so many 'expert' opinions that the subjects are all left with no real conclusions and science no longer matters, just opinions; we all have them but are they really 'ours'?
When did we reach that time when we needed 'experts' to tell us how to think? Do we really need help being told what to be afraid of and how to formulate our own opinions? How does the parroting of other's opinions, make them 'our' opinions? When did we stop thinking? We are told what to eat, drink, consume, where to live, what to say, how to react, what to believe and how to raise our children. There are laws, by-laws, mandates, orders, certificates, licenses ..., which 'punish' us in one form or another if we don't behave a certain way. We cheer them on and demand more laws and certificates in the name of 'security' and more 'punishment' for those that stray.
Does anyone know if vitamins, milk, eggs, sun block, baby formula, peanuts are good for us or not? Don't drink soy milk, drink soy milk, don't take vitamins, take vitamins, a barrage of noise in the end confusing the choices just enough to opt for the easy way out: whatever is easiest on the pocketbook. We all want to eat healthy but since the 'experts' have made the term 'biological' trendy, we pay through the nose for it.
Here are a few more gems that I also liked:
"Some Experts Say Rescue Program Might Not Work" - If they are truly experts, why are they so ambiguous? Because this way, either way, the 'experts' are correct, some 'experts' may be better than others.
"Emerging technologies need regulatory reform, experts say" - This is also about invoking a sense of unease about 'emerging' technologies and inspiring a form of 'control' over them. We wouldn't want any too 'radical' ideas springing forth.
"Times not so bad, experts say" - A nice definitive statement for you to believe. uh huh , duh, must be right, duh, good thing all these 'experts' are here to , duh get me through life, uh huh :) Too bad about my job, it'll pick up, we'll get through this.
"Experts say financial situation is not out of control" - If you believe, it will happen, we will bounce back to 'normal'. We seem to revel in the 'hope' and the 'faith' that these experts portray.
Hooked on experts, people don't have to think, don't have to question, don't have to feel uncomfortable about their limited knowledge because there are 'teams' of people doing their thinking for them and making sure that their experiences are 'safe' and 'controlled'. This is the same mentality of children - "If I leave it long enough, someone else will do it." It amazes me how we ever got to this point in humanity without all of these 'protections; we should have all been wiped out centuries ago.
Instead of holding onto our collective ignorance we should be embracing questions and different ideas. Look into something, don't just blindly accept it on the word of 'experts' and 'studies'. Think about your own life and experiences before passing 'judgments' and 'labels'. Collect as much information as possible; dive into the possibilities of life, human experience and co-existence with an open mind and a clear view of what is happening. Only through understanding using scientific analysis and self reflection can the 'truth' ever be found.
1 comment:
This reminds me of something i once read. 50 years ago scientists were always right. Now there is science for almost any point-of-view.
A fundamental problem I'm having is simply journalism. If you really wan't to know the true facts I think the only option is to do research yourself. If I only had the time (and the willpower!).
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