34 min listen
Rationally Speaking #16 - Deferring to Experts
Rationally Speaking #16 - Deferring to Experts
ratings:
Length:
35 minutes
Released:
Aug 29, 2010
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
At a talk he gave at TAM 8, Massimo argued that non-experts in a field aren't qualified to reject an expert consensus, such as that on anthropogenic climate change. Most recently, he has taken Jerry Coyne to task for making a philosophical argument without having the necessary expertise. This raises a number of questions: Are there fields that have no experts, or that have pretend experts? If there is a lot of disagreement among experts on a topic, should we take any individual expert's opinion less seriously? How much consensus is required before a non-expert should say, "OK, looks like this question really is settled"?
Perhaps noted expert George Carlin had it right when he said: "I have as much authority as the pope, I just don't have as many people who believe it."
Perhaps noted expert George Carlin had it right when he said: "I have as much authority as the pope, I just don't have as many people who believe it."
Released:
Aug 29, 2010
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Rationally Speaking #2 - Love, a Skeptical Inquiry: Will science ever really be able to explain love? Should it try? Plus Massimo and Julia's picks: The book "What is this thing called science" and the NY Times article "Making College 'relevant'." by Rationally Speaking Podcast