The Overreach and the Reach around
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Ever taken bad advice from someone you think should know better? Who's fault is it?
One thing I notice that happens often (especially these days) is that we have the tendency to listen to people who have earned our attention in one area when they speak about something in a completely different area. We see this commonly with celebrities who become authorities on everything from environmental issues to politics and banking even though they have essentially zero credibility in the field. A well-known face is better than any expertise.
The thing I have found is that the barrier to becoming 'an authority' is continually decreasing as the ability to become well-known increases. This is compounded by the deluge of information that comes into our periphery and draws our attention energy this way and that across many fields. This means that many of us are trusting lower and lower skilled people with a lower ability to recognise it.
This in turn is further compounded as the more attention one person get, the more confident they become to keep expanding their reach and spread. The support we give them encourages them to predict and comment further and further afield until they are advising in areas where it is potentially very harmful to do so.
We listen though because we find it hard to limit someone we like or respect's knowledge boundaries. Because they make us feel good when they speak, we listen to them eve when the information they provide is poor, and they may know it yet, present with confidence. Even if they put in caveats to protect themselves if wrong, we rarely listen as we want them to be right.
This is especially true when we agree with their stance on something or what they are saying fulfils our future desires. The problem of course comes when they fail, their predictions or advice is discovered to be BS or highly unlikely at best. We then condemn them for overreaching and shun them.
At this point, some new hindsight expert steps in and says 'See? I knew this would happen.' and we start to follow and support them until they overreach into areas they know nothing about and fail too.
At what point do we take responsibility for ourselves and actually step back from what makes us feel good and perform our own analysis instead?
In my ten months at Steemit, I have seen quite a few people rise and fall as authorities on topics they know very little about. They quickly garner a pool of support only to later be discovered as frauds or at least, not completely what they appear. Is this a surprise? Not really as this is the internet and no one considers you may be a dog.
It is all about creating a personal brand that attracts eyes, attention and support so as to get a return from the support base. And because it is the internet and sitting behind a screen develops a keyboard warrior mentality, it is very easy to forget that those one is advising are real people with real life issues. Feeding them shit that makes them feel good but is potentially very harmful, is not the kind of behaviour that should be encouraged but is because people that don't present confidently enough, don't get a lot of attention.
The problem with this is that often, the people that may actually know a lot about something and have valuable information to provide, are boring, poorly presented and unwilling to commit to their stance as they know nothing is certain.
What I have found at Steemit is that there area a lot of people making claims and because there are even more people with a low understanding across many areas, they get support regardless of their skills. It nearly always ends with a fall from grace as they are rarely what they seem.
I don't often give advice but in this case I will, take everything anyone says with a pinch of salt, no matter who they are, how much you like them and especially, how many followers they have or how much traction they get. Popular rarely translates into beneficial, except for the popular person.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
Ah! The irony!! The irony in thinking that the massive new trainers, educators and instructors of the 21st century are now the Show Bizniz Celebrities of the Reality Shows. ¿Huh? Who gradually and steadily they have come to replace the formidable scientists and communicators protagonists of the documentaries of yesteryear. ¡Wadda_________! <-- choose you the word!! :p :)
It is a brave new world. One that is unlikely to end smoothly :)
Smoothly?.. smoothly?.. Oh yeah! smoothly! ¡Wadda Smoothly!
"..aand that's the last thing I remember until you pour me this cup of coffee.."
};) (:{
A very good post, and very true.
I blame this fad of celebrity credibility on the educational, dumbing down for over 3 decades.
If you never teach them how to apply the tools of critical thought, what can you expect..?
In addition ot this, we also have the debunking of 'experts'
These were people, were told pre internet - that were top of their field, blah blah blah.
The internet has now stripped many of that godlike status, and now we look elsewhere for opinions, because so much of our 'informed experts', information, has turned out to be nothing more than propaganda..
that my thoughts, but what what I know ?
take it with a pinch of salt lol
Yes, there is also tearing down of experts who actually know what they are doing by attacking them at other points. The whole system is set up to create echo chambers.
You my find a good man in 1000, but if you do you're lucky. People fail. Look for the underlying motive.
Follow the money, as they say.
As human beings, we always look for information to support what we already think or want to be true. Being ready and even eager to look into opinions opposite of our own isn't always easy, but can definitely help us a lot in life. And yes I think you are totally right - we ourselves are responsible for the information we listen to and how we analyze it for its credibility!
It may be difficult to break the cycle, but it is necessary.
I tentatively agree.
I would expect nothing more.
Giving an opinion is not always expertise but sometimes taken as such just because people are famous.
Then isnt steem the ultimate proof of this?
when you write here (even in mediocraty) you eventually build up enough followers to get some momentum
And you tend to stick to certain topics which is when people start to assume you are an expert but you might just be interested...
I guess all the answers lay in the future and that future will show how much salt is needed
I think I need to start sticking to certain topics then. Perhaps I write too randomly :)
Society is often in confusion. If everyone agrees, you can almost be guaranteed it is wrong.
with the "you" in my post I did not really mean you in person, I meant you as in "one tends to write..."
Oh, I took it as a generalised you but I see that I am all over the place content-wise so to really "cash-in" perhaps I should focus on getting people to believe I am an authority.
I would have taken no offence either way mate :)
hehe, I think you should keep your philosofical ramblings all over the place for a couple of reasons:
Great post. In the field of (academic) philosophy I have sat through countless hours of seminars and classes where the person who is talking or giving the lecture doesn't know what he/she is talking about. Or they take a philosophical concept and apply it to a novel situation with no actual knowledge about it. So I know what you are talking about. I see myself in the Socratic way: I know that I know nothing yet. I am on a journey to learn and I try to give it back to other if they are willing to read my word. Great post! Will look for future posts.
Well, philosophy teachers and students have a tendency to get attached to a concept that gels with them but many do not really explore the practical nature of it, so it remains theory. I don't read much, just try to watch people and their behaviours and see what I see. It may be incorrect but, it is enjoyable :)
Welcome to the world of Tim Ferris. Except that you need to know only 2%.
I think everyone who speaks is not wrong in his words. Always wrong. Always come to the owner. You have to think about your problem with the mouse
This is very true, @tarazkp. I think it's like this...I'm not very good in X field (say computers, I'm not very good at IT stuff). And since we mostly build friendships over shared interests, it's unlikely that I will become friends with a lot of computer-savvy people (unless, of course, we share other interests, but say we don't). and since I don't have any friends who are good with computers, my only choice - if I have a computer problem - is to ask around the people I like and admire, aka my friends, because I trust them in other areas of my life. And I will take their advice on my computer problem.
But you're right, I shouldn't do that and I should
Really enjoyed your post.Thanks!
The rule is these days: Always keep a computer nerd friend. :)
Oh, luckily it was just an example and I do have computer nerds around me :D