I'm Not an Expert, But...

If you ever find yourself saying or typing the words, "I'm not an expert, but...", and the next words will be a disagreement with the experts, stop. Just stop.

(If that initial clause is instead intended to be a caveat that the following information may not be correct, however, then, by all means, continue. This version of the phrase is used all too infrequently, so I encourage you to promulgate its use and the corresponding humility.)

This phrase has somehow become the magical talisman that allows people to feel like they can disagree with experts and still be taken seriously. I don't get it. You're acknowledging, right up front, that you're not an expert. Why should I listen to anything you have to say after that point?

Just listen to what you're saying! "I'm not an expert, but I obviously know more than the experts, so believe me instead." Does that really sound right to you?

"I'm not an expert, but..." is what allows the anti-vaccination movement to thrive. (Because parental gut feelings are way more scientific than literally decades of research...)

"I'm not an expert, but..." is what keeps people trying to force creationism into curricula at the expense of evolution. (Because anti-science!)

"I'm not an expert, but..." is what keeps abstinence-only sex-ed programs alive, despite all evidence showing that they just don't work, and can even be counter-productive. (I'm actually planning another post in a while on this topic, so snarky comment to follow.)

"I'm not an expert, but..." is basically what every politician says who then goes on to disagree with the experts about climate change. (I don't even have a snarky comment about this. John Oliver took them all.)

"I'm not an expert, but..." is what allows general lay people to post things on the internet claiming to disprove the Theory of General Relativity, for God's sake. (Yes, random 13-year-old, your little thought experiment has definitely proven fundamental flaws that 100 years of careful scrutiny, criticism and lab experiments have failed to reveal. That's definitely right. There's certainly not something that you're missing.)

(Hey, it only took me four posts to break my promise about politics! However, I think it's to our shame as a country that any of these are even political.)

Look, if you're not an expert, then you'd be much better served by trying to figure out why you think you're right and the experts, who by definition know WAY more about the topic than you do, are wrong, than by trying to present a non-expert opinion as just as valid as an expert opinion.

And also, for the love of all that is good any wonderful in the world, can we please stop treating pronouncements from famous people as important just because they're famous? They're. Not. Experts.

(The following example is used just because it's something recent that quickly comes to mind, nothing more. It's not meant to be representative of anything in particular. Please don't read anything into this.)

I saw a link on Facebook, from a certain website, where Terry Bradshaw was expressing an opinion about Hillary Clinton, and a certain political group wasn't going to like it.

What exactly makes Terry Bradshaw qualified to express an opinion on Hillary Clinton that is meaningful to anyone except himself? Is he a political scientist? Has he done investigative journalism on Hillary Clinton? Does he have any information about her that the rest of us don't have?

Of course not. Terry Bradshaw is a football analyst. His opinion of Hillary Clinton is worth exactly what yours or mine is; it doesn't need to be plastered all over the internet. I don't care if you or I agree or disagree with his opinion; that doesn't matter. Just like his opinion doesn't matter, except however much you let it.

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge the man his opinion; I just don't care. Like the Sara Bareilles song says, "You've got opinions, man. We're all entitled to 'em. But I never asked."

This also, it should be said, goes for experts who start making pronouncements outside of their fields of expertise. That happens too, and it's just as bad. In fact, in some ways, it's even more pernicious, because being an expert in some area can lend an aura of authority that isn't necessarily deserved in other areas.

Our society has become one that arrogates the opinion of the common person to the same level as that of an actual expert. Experience and expertise aren't as valued any more, and in fact are often looked down on. We see it in politics, we see it in science, and we see it in business. (How often do businesses think they can replace experienced workers with inexperienced ones with little or no impact to continued operations or the bottom line? How'd that work out for you, Home Depot?) And to me, as someone who's worked hard to be good at, and, dare I say, even an expert at my job, and to at least have informed opinions about things, that's a shame.

When it's just people blathering on social networks, it's not a huge deal. I'm a big boy, and I'm perfectly capable of ignoring this, as well as any associated call of duty that I may feel. It saddens me at times to see so much misinformation and under-informed opining on my News Feed, but whatever. I haven't unfriended anyone yet, and I don't plan to start.

But when we're talking about the safety of our children, the education of our children, the future of the planet, or even just a basic respect for science, and when it comes from people who actually have a say in such things... that gets hard to swallow. And they get away with it because We The People give them a pass on it.

So let's stop.