Who should you trust?
The government? An influencer? A think tank? The CDC? Experts? What does “expert” even mean?
First, you should trust yourself. Everybody else might be wrong or have an agenda
But sometimes you might be wrong / be biased/ lack expertise. What then?
The government? An influencer? A think tank? The CDC? Experts? What does “expert” even mean?
First, you should trust yourself. Everybody else might be wrong or have an agenda
But sometimes you might be wrong / be biased/ lack expertise. What then?
We then say “trust experts”. But which one? You can find an “expert” for any opinion.
What is an expert?
Traditionally, it’s a credentialed person or one named to a position of authority. Both of these things are the same.
A credential is just other ppl vouching for you
What is an expert?
Traditionally, it’s a credentialed person or one named to a position of authority. Both of these things are the same.
A credential is just other ppl vouching for you
If you have a PhD, it’s because you passed some tests made by other ppl who also have PhDs, who got theirs through other PhDs. A PhD is trustworthy insofar as the chain of previous PhDs is.
An authority figure is legitimate only insofar as those naming her are legitimate.
An authority figure is legitimate only insofar as those naming her are legitimate.
If these ppl have a track record of being right, their standing will increase. And viceversa.
How do we know they have a track record?
Ideally, you could judge by yourself. Each time somebody seems right to you, you trust him more.
How do we know they have a track record?
Ideally, you could judge by yourself. Each time somebody seems right to you, you trust him more.
And when you’re not sure whether to trust or not, look around. What are other people who you trust saying about this new statement? The more trustworthy people agree with something, the more you should trust it
Trust then is like Google’s PageRank algorithm. The more important pages point at yours, the more important your page becomes.
Ppl are like sites, and their opinions are pages. If an opinion (=page) receives lots of praise (=backlinks) from trustworthy ppl (=high domain authority sites), your opinion guama authority. Do that a lot, and you (=site) gain authority too
So who should you trust?
Those who have a track record of being right.
And if you’re not equipped to tell if somebody is right? Then look at a track record of other trustworthy ppl agreeing.
A PhD is just one more way to prove a track record of others vouching for you
Those who have a track record of being right.
And if you’re not equipped to tell if somebody is right? Then look at a track record of other trustworthy ppl agreeing.
A PhD is just one more way to prove a track record of others vouching for you
Some say “Trust facts”
But most facts go through a layer of trust to ppl
The reporter of the news. Their source.
The scientist that published a paper. Her reviewers. The other scientist that failed to replicate the findings.
For most facts, you rely on trust to somebody
But most facts go through a layer of trust to ppl
The reporter of the news. Their source.
The scientist that published a paper. Her reviewers. The other scientist that failed to replicate the findings.
For most facts, you rely on trust to somebody
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