It is a fallacy that experts know all about their subject matter. They don’t. It is true they know what they know. And it is also true they believe that is all there is to know about it. To sum it up, let me use this phrase in current use and see if it isn’t clearer: “The Science is settled.”
Who usually leads the pack in coming up with better information, ways, means, and methods are the people who say, “You know, there has to be a better way”, then go out of their way to find it. Eventually these people are hailed as experts and, as is often the case, get the big-head about their information, ways, means, and methods, and believe their particular topic is settled.
Then along comes other people who says to them, “You know, there has to be a better way”, then they go out of their way to find it. Eventually these people are hailed as experts and, as is often the case, get the big-head about their information, ways, means, and methods…
This happens ad infinitum. Get the drift? I have two stories to illustrate this.
Story Number One: Car Dealers
Years ago when I barely had a computer, I heard about this thing that was growing in popularity. It was called the World Wide Web, yes, www[dot]name[dot]com.
At that time in my business I had a client here in Atlanta that was a very successful (but still number three in Atlanta) Mercedes Benz dealership. I went to the general manager and here is what I said:
“Look, David, there is this thing coming along called the World Wide Web. I believe that one day cars will be sold on what is being referred to as online. I think you should get ahead of the curve and setup something a web site and list your inventory, hours of operation, address, your sales people, all that stuff.”
The GM stared at me, laughed, then said, “Angela, I don’t think you understand. Nobody is ever going to spend that much money on a car without talking to a salesperson and having that salesperson explain stuff. We will never sell cars like that. Ever.”
“But…” said I, and got no further because he just couldn’t stop laughing. Well, guess who eventually got a website and is doing a heck of a job selling more cars? That’s just one instance of a better way. In this instance it was the marketplace leading the way and telling car dealers how they wanted to do business.
The question is this: Why did the car dealer get a website? Because they found that consumers were using the WWW to get information about vehicles before they came to the dealership. In fact, they quickly found out that their consumers knew more about the brand and the individual models than the salespeople did. Primo uomo salesmen were getting mad at customers because of this, turning customers into enemies. This was not a good look for them.
On the other hand, there were some on the sales floor who took the hint and got themselves a computer and began finding out what was out there, thanking their customers, and complimenting them on their thorough research. Faster than you can say “You are Salesman O’ Da Month”, they were. Why? Because they opened their minds to new approaches.
Which brings us to…
Story Number Two: Cancer Cures
When it comes to health choices, it is always non-trained people who have stepped out of their information bubbles and said “You know, there has to be a better way.” Here’s a story about that.
Many long years ago a friend of mine was dying of Stage IV cancer. His doctors had said he had to take chemo and he would lose his hair and he would be sick all the time and maybe he might live…maybe.
My friend said, “Doctor, explain to me how chemotherapy works.” So the doctor did. And my friend asked one question: “Doctor, why are so many different types of chemicals used at the same time?”
The doctor’s answer was instructive. “Because we don’t know which one will work on which cancer.”
My friend said, “So, what you are telling me is that you are throwing the whole pot of spaghetti on the wall to see which one sticks?” The doctor nodded at which point my friend said, “Well, there has to be a better way. Let me think about this.” And he went home to think.
This was before the World Wide Web and search engines were unheard of. Within a few days he and his wife had researched chemotherapy, found a research doctor in (if memory serves correctly) Norway, called the Norwegian researcher, had a conversation, was told he could do what my friend wanted done, and gave him instructions to give to his doctor.
My friend went back to his doctor, told him all about it, and his doctor said, “I didn’t know that could be done.” No kidding. He could’ve added: “I didn’t even think to look into it.”
My friend said, “Well, it’s just in that one clinic in Norway where they are trying this out. Here’s the instructions. Let’s gitterdun.”
What was it my friend wanted to have done? He wanted his cancer to be treated by individual drugs to see which one his cancer best responded to. And because he said “You know, there’s got to be a better way”, his mind was open to new methods and approaches.
The doctor sent off the biological material to Norway and they set to waiting for several weeks to get results back. In the meantime, my friend found a place in the Mexican mountains where he could detox his body in preparation for being as healthy as possible for when he took the single chemotherapy.
The Norwegian doctor isolated which worked best. The American doctor set about giving that to my dying friend. He did not lose any hair. He did not get sick. He was cured. And he lived for thirty more years with nary a recurrence of cancer. He died of old age for which, as is settled science, there is no cure.
Now the medical profession does this a lot, but at the time, the experts didn’t know anything about it. It took a layperson to question it and dig that out.
The car dealer and the doctor were experts in their field but were so mired in their settled knowledge they did not realize just how rigid became their thinking when it came to possibilities. The car dealer wanted to earn more and the doctor cared for his patients, yet both were not best serving their goals.
Which brings us to: Career Candidates
While it is true that there are politicians who become such for clearly monetary reasons, there are many who seek political office because they truly want to help people or solve a problem. Both end up hurting their goals, though, because they too get mired in thinking so rigid the first ends up destroying their ability to make money and the second turns into a righter of wrongs so intently they end up punishing the very citizens they had originally set out to help.
We see this played out in front of us every day on the news, in newspapers and magazines, and in online content served up by the thousands upon thousands of stories. Even the legacy media pushing the mantra of The Science is Settled, can’t help but tell us the truth is other than what they report. Their lies are so plentiful they forget what they’ve said. And every now and then one will actually tell the real truth thinking it is the approved truth and next thing you know they are backpedaling quicker than a cicada in heat with the 24-hour-clock ticking too fast.
What is it they say? Tell the truth and you don’t have to have a good memory? Or is it the other way? You better have a good memory to keep track of the lies?
In any case, there is very little that is ever fully settled. Just as true: It is always the majority that are easily fooled and never wise up. Therefore, ipso facto de-DUH: It is up to the minority to lead the way and remind the rest and hopefully get them to thinking. Reminding them that an open mind does not accept everything at face value and that closed minds are most easily fooled. And who are willing to say
“You know, there has to be a better way.”
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Born and raised in Georgia, Angela K. Durden is an author, publisher, editor, songwriter, performer, and more, living in the Metro Atlanta, Georgia, area. Support your Citizen Journalist and visit her Consolidated Author Page and buy a book. See more about Angela here. Want to watch a fun video? Click here.
