Let’s Admit How Little We Know

Please check out the “DK” curve at left.

From Bertrand Russell: The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.

From Socrates: We are only as wise as our awareness of our ignorance.

These are more than a couple of random data points from the history of Western Philosophy; there is an extremely serious and relevant point to be made here which becomes clear when we contrast these ideas with today’s culture.  The world now contains literally millions of people who know next to nothing about things like international relations or climate science, but who consider their viewpoints, even those that diverge from the scientists in the field, worth sharing with the world–and in the most adamant and forceful manner. Translation: their ignorance is just as good as the scientists’ facts.

How did this happen?  Exactly when?  Of course, we didn’t have the Internet 45 years ago, but if we were to go back to the 1970s and think about the norms of behavior at the time, we certainly wouldn’t find tractor salesmen telling us what they thought about DDT toxicity and the other scientific issues of the day. The fact that we no longer need experts–because we ourselves are experts–is possibly one of the scariest aspects of living in the 21st Century.