In praise of experts

The criminality of being Christian
increases with your proximity to science.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Albert Mohler makes much of a recent NPR report about a study which finds — What do you know? — that evangelicals with some science education are mistrustful of university-based scientists.

I have to admit I am somewhat astounded that that line made its way into this NPR report. Straightforwardly, here we’re being told that evangelicals with greater expertise in science have less trust in the so-called university scientists. The distinction on the left-right continuum in American ideological life was made clear when the article says that liberal respondents were more trusting of university scientists and of science museums than were conservatives, but were no more trusting of industry scientists. On the other hand, the conservatives were more trusting of religious organizations than were liberals.

Well.

Mohler, y’all should know, is a Young Earth Creationist, upholds a literal reading of the Bible, and serves on the board of the Answers in Genesis ministry. Naturally, he would read approvingly anything that points toward mistrust of science.

Not all opinions are created equal, alas. Evolution is supported by millions of objective, mutually supportive, unrelated observations made by tens of thousands of unrelated individuals over the course of more than 150-years, and has withstood the scrutiny of the world’s finest minds. Mohler’s literalism is supported by … his mommy and daddy told him so. So there.

I have a difficult time, frankly, understanding how any educated adult can regard the Bible’s origins claims with anything but contempt. The whole story is a preposterous myth, and only an inferior intelligence can fail to see that; it really is as simple as that, and not worth further discussion.

But in an age when an aide to President-elect Donald Trump can say frankly on national television that “facts no longer exist,” and an extraordinary number of Americans believe that millions of illegal aliens cast votes for Hillary Clinton in California during the recent election, it’s worthwhile to give some thought to what we know and how we know it.

The place to begin is by frankly acknowledging that, yes, everybody is entitled to his or her opinion but, contrary to the anti-intellectualism now howled and bellowed from pulpits and podiums all across the country, not all opinions are created equal. Here are some facts: My opinions about the behavior of soil when loaded is better than yours; Michael Hamar’s opinions about the law are better than mine; frequent commenter Bernie knows more about operating a warship than either of us; and regular commenter TR can undoubtedly design an electrical circuit more capably than any of us.

There is such a thing as expertise, and a lot of it is needed to keep a society running smoothly. It is true that engineers, lawyers and naval officers all make mistakes — but not so often as others and, generally, far less consequentially.

“Facts no longer exist”? Bullshit. And instead of eating the educated, the people who have devoted thousands of hours of their lives to mastering a field of knowledge that keeps the public safe, they ought to be celebrated.

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