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A review by allysonwbrunette
The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters by Tom Nichols
3.0
I really enjoyed this book, but wow, do I wish that there had been a new preface written in 2020 in the age of conspiracy theories and a global pandemic. This content really hits differently in this year. My husband bought this book and I read it before he got to it. It was a good read, but honestly, pretty dry. Not really a page turner, but I suppose this is to be the case when addressing important topics like why expertise has earned doubts and why much of that doubt is ill-directed. In a nutshell, this book confirmed a few things for me:
Everyone thinks they are brilliant because they have access to the internet.
Younger generations and the less educated are less and less able to determine the credibility of information in front of them.
Americans are complete crackpots when it comes to conspiracy theory adoption.
(And a bit of projecting because it is 2020): we’re freaking doomed.
It was interesting seeing how the internet has empowered curiosity and stupidity in one breath, but also how the current context of the world so desperately wants to prove experts wrong. Much of the book addresses the dislike of those who work in academia or in a policy role in government. If you’re curious about why Americans’ brains appear to be melting at a quicker clip in recent years and are up for a short, but relatively textbook-ish read, I’d recommend this one.
Everyone thinks they are brilliant because they have access to the internet.
Younger generations and the less educated are less and less able to determine the credibility of information in front of them.
Americans are complete crackpots when it comes to conspiracy theory adoption.
(And a bit of projecting because it is 2020): we’re freaking doomed.
It was interesting seeing how the internet has empowered curiosity and stupidity in one breath, but also how the current context of the world so desperately wants to prove experts wrong. Much of the book addresses the dislike of those who work in academia or in a policy role in government. If you’re curious about why Americans’ brains appear to be melting at a quicker clip in recent years and are up for a short, but relatively textbook-ish read, I’d recommend this one.