The uncomfortable truth is that there have been far too many instances where experts and authorities have failed or misled the public.
From the faulty intelligence leading up to the Iraq War to the opioid epidemic fueled by pharmaceutical companies and complicit medical and government professionals, there are real-world examples of expertise being misused or corrupted by ulterior motives.
@Daojoan Social relationships containing some inequality in the knowledge base, combined with our need to evaluate expertise, leaves conversation able to get at the essential points more efficiently than is discourse by the relative expert.
If the parties are otherwise assumed to be peers, it allows the free flow of questions and responses without fears of hierarchical social relationships developing around the issue. This matters, as ego defense is a primary motivator.
@Daojoan
Imho, the problem is that early on when television and radio were new, news was a public service and delivered by people with conscience. In the late seventies I believe news pivoted to a profit model and since then it's not news it's what makes the most money.
An example is the abuse of trust going on in technology. Technology is supposed to deliver us 'progress.' Make things better, faster, cheaper, cleaner, more efficient. And yet, as pointed out so eloquently by @ajsadauskas today (https://aus.social/@ajsadauskas/112317411058906212) all we are getting are lies and bullshit fabulosity pump and dump schemes. Until people in power in our society quit screwing around trying to con everyone we are just going to keep going backwards. It doesn't have to be this way.
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