Monday, May 12, 2008
Question 6
Does Taleb's claim that the professionals don't know what is happening distress you? - Do you believe it? Does it change the way you think of how things in society run? We put a lot of trust in these 'specialists' and 'professionals' - what is the danger in relying on them? What is the alternative to relying on them?
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Well I have only read the prologue (due to lack of time and motivation) but hope to read the entire thing. But I'll comment on this question based on a book that I just finished (and loved) "Flowers for Algernon." The protagonist of the book becomes a genius as a result of a scientific experiment. Once his genius exceeds that of his researchers he has a frightening realization that they know nothing beyond the very specifics of their field. They purport to be experts but from his point of view, they actually understand very little. It was terrifying to him. I thought that was fascinating. A lot of "specialists" become so narrow in the their scope of knowledge they seem to know very little at all. On a day to day basis this doesn't distress me b/c I haven't had a reason to be. But when looked at from a larger point of view, it is a bit unnerving to think how much clout we give certain individuals with a narrow scope of knowledge. But I don't know that their is an alternative. Oh the limitations of the human mind...
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