[Image Source] (https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/using-experts-inexpertly-leads-to-policy-failure-warn-researchers)
In his lecture, Dr. Roger Koppl’s gave many examples of how expert failure can greatly impact our society. The most notable, of course, was the discussion of the Great Recession. Before this enormous economic collapse in 2008, expert central banker Alan Greenspan was trusted to prevent any kind of financial ruin because of his expertise in the field. However, Greenspan did not act favorably for the economy. He continued to artificially inflate the status of the market and essentially contributed to the popping of the bubble in 2008. Dr. Koppl used examples such as this one to highlight the importance of not putting all of your eggs in one basket and blindly trusting the opinions of experts. Experts are no different from anyone else Dr. Koppl explains. In fact, he mentions that there are three different assumptions that can be made about all experts. Experts “do not always seek the truth”, they “are not smarter than other people,” there is also the capability for incentives to “skew the distribution of expert errors, even ‘honest’ errors.” I agree with Dr. Koppl’s assessment. While it may seem like the better decision to follow the word of an expert than that of a nonexpert, history has shown us time and again that blind devotion to one entity is not as beneficial as it may seem. These individuals are often given too much power because of their educational or experiential statuses. They are viewed almost like gods and are held at a higher standard than the rest of us. I know I have fallen prey to this type of thinking in the past, but it has become clear to me that it is better to do your own research into a topic or procedure before you commit to anything. While experts may be seen as all-knowing beings that should rule the world, there truly is no one around that can know everything and always have the right answers. This is exactly what Dr. Koppl is getting at. And while he does go into great detail about why this type of admiration can be dangerous, he does not explain how to combat this type of power struggle. Some experts may continue to have a hold on society even after they have failed. Why is that? The answer to that question is not so clear. Maybe it is simply because humans are known to engage in groupthink, or the abandonment of common sense or free thought in favor of the preservation of a group consensus. If we were to effectively see these failing experts through the lens that Dr. Koppl has provided, there would likely be less instances of societal downfalls. Allowing these experts to continue to stake a claim on our lives is simply perpetuating the cycle of ebbs and flows within our economic and social systems. Moving forward, society needs to relinquish its fascination with experts and begin to thoroughly explore the various approaches to issues that may arise. No single person should be given the power to decide how we live our lives, even if they are an “expert.”
