The Human Condition: The new anti-intellectualism
By Daniel Schnee on October 14, 2021.
People often wonder why some in society believe what is accurately called nonsense. And, as I have pointed out in earlier columns, emotional reasoning often trumps actual reasoning in the great “card game” of life. But these days there does indeed seem to be a new flavour of anti-intellectualism. Rather than the old, “My opinions are as good as your facts,” refrain, this new idea is that the person who is openly anti-expert is the true expert: revealing what the government supposedly doesn’t want you to know, and the proof of their claims being any opposition whatsoever. It is an updated version of the “poisoned well” fallacy: saying something bad about your opponent so no one trusts them, thereby making you trustworthy by default. An increasing number of Internet ads consist of these kinds of claims. For example, a special pad, supposedly created by a scientist censured by the government, has the ability to suck toxic elements out of your feet overnight while you sleep. The “proof” of the cleansing is the pad going from white to dark brown; supposed visual confirmation of its toxin-sucking. But these types of pads have been around for years: treated with chemicals that slowly turn colour upon contact with human skin, “proving” that some medical benefit has taken place. If a chemist points out this scheme they are automatically called a liar, because they are obviously up to something by the very fact they are a chemist. If a doctor tells you not to buy a toxin-sucking pad, then this is now used as “proof” that medical professionals are in cahoots with drug companies and other corporations, like they stand to lose something if these pads turn colour. Thus, all experts are guilty until proven innocent, until the purchaser learns to their dismay that their body is now filled with more toxins, if it ever had any to begin with. Thankfully, it is easy to spot those who would pass themselves off as the self-proclaimed anti-experts. They give their game away, because they use fancy words in places where regular words would work better. They may also have fancy degrees, but from questionable schools, and quote information from questionable sources. They say nothing but positive things, never if the pads have side effects or not. They are always selling something; you have to spend money to gain knowledge or benefits. Their “expertise” is telling you that other experts are wrong, not proving they are wrong. They especially love using statistics incorrectly, stating for example that polling reveals 60% of Canadians love their product … though they only surveyed 10 people. It would be like saying 100% of Canada loves the Liberals, because you did your poll at Prime Minister Trudeau’s house. Knowing this information is how we find and resist the nostrums, the ineffective potions foisted upon us by charlatans who lie about the government as it attempts to save us from the very charlatans themselves. Truth or fact can come from people who are not official experts, but they must indeed be revealing truths and facts, with or without the government. Expertly acquired knowledge is free, and of great benefit. Anything else is the real toxin. Dr. Daniel Schnee is an anthropologist who studies Japanese creative culture 10-9
