We suggest that the process of uncritical differentiation might be built into the fundamental neural processes that occur in human beings. Founded in the Amygdala, there is a wired-in ongoing assessment of that which is perceived as threatening to us.

Kevin Weitz, Psy.D. and William Bergquist, Ph.D. In some ways this is a very short book about the crisis of expertise. In other ways this is a rather long book for it delves into the deep recesses of the crisis, offers suggestions regarding ways to find personal and collective expertise and practical suggestions regarding what to do right now in …

Kevin Weitz, Psy.D. and William Bergquist, Ph.D. [Note: the content of this essay has been included in a recently published book called The Crises of Expertise and Belief. This paperback book can be purchased by clicking on this link.]   The negative impact of Fake News, especially within the political, economic, and social environments is increasing, emphasizing the need to …

Kevin Weitz, Psy.D. and William Bergquist, Ph.D. [Note: the content of this essay has been included in a recently published book called The Crises of Expertise and Belief. This paperback book can be purchased by clicking on this link.] To recognize superior expertise would require people to have already a surfeit of expertise themselves. David Dunning (2012) There is a …

We focus on the psychology of how influential people use language to propagate misinformation and lies for their own benefit and how it is possible that so many people actually believe them.

Humans are social beings - people have a strong natural tendency to affiliate with others and have a fundamental need to belong to social groups (Van Prooijen, 2018). This need becomes stronger when there is a perceived threat, such as Covid, terrorism or war.

[Note: the content of this essay has been included in a recently published book called The Crises of Expertise and Belief. This paperback book can be purchased by clicking on this link.] Recently, the conservative essayist, Jeff Jacoby, wrote a brief piece entitled “Nobody knows anything.” (Jacobi, 2022). He was commenting on the often-failed prophecies made at the start of …

In my previous essay on “the crisis of expertise”, I not only commented on leadership hubris and over-confidence, but also that many people (especially lay-people in the context of a specific complex topic) are often blatantly ignorant and largely unaware of their ignorance. A phenomenon in our modern digital world, is that information – and misinformation – is rapidly accessible …

It is evident that the roles of leaders, particularly in a fast-changing world, and the roles of leaders, advisors, experts and that of lay-people is unclear leading to distrust, rejection and animosity. There is also the broader challenge that is now found in many societies. This is the widespread disbelief in expertise regarding COVID-19 over the past two years.

The title “Google-fueled, Wikipedia based, Blog-sodden” is taken from Tom Nichols book entitled “The Death of Expertise”. While this description may be a little over the top, we are living through a period in our history where people are dying (as a result of the Covid pandemic), many of whom could be saved if they followed the advice of medical …