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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   34937 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 30, 2023

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Is it inaccurate to suggest that people are more likely to default to "trusting the experts" on topics which they have only minor understanding of? That is, if somebody learns basic science and only partially understands it, trusting the authority of their teachers and memorizing passwords, then when an "Expert" comes along and contradicts that with "updated science" they will discard their previous vague knowledge and latch onto the new password. It's just trading one expert (the school teacher) for a new one with higher status. But if someone has a strong understanding of the science and the underlying concepts, and is confident in the accuracy of their knowledge because it's tied into a holistic framework, then they will be less likely to update in the face of new evidence, as a change in the password has to contend with how it changes the whole framework.

People tend to be much more stubborn about ideas that they know a lot about, and trust other people in things they don't know much about. And this is rational, because your previous knowledge of ideas you don't know much about are more likely to be wrong. So if people had a stronger understanding of science, they would be less likely to blindly believe what other people say without evidence strong enough to overcome their prior understanding. And while there are plenty of counterexamples, I expect it would still have a large effect on the margins.

I think that does make sense, at least in a vacuum, but going to college will probably also make you more likely to "trust the experts" on a number of topics, including OP's examples of rejecting HBD and supporting outdoor masks

But going to college =/= more educated

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