NWC INS Summer Lecture Series - Lecture 2 "The Death of Expertise"

Join Professor Tom Nichols who will speak about his most recent and often quoted book "The Death of Expertise.”
From Professor Nichols: Technology and increasing levels of education have exposed people to more information than ever before. These societal gains, however, have also helped fuel a surge in narcissistic and misguided intellectual egalitarianism that has crippled informed debates on any number of issues. Today, everyone knows everything: with only a quick trip through WebMD or Wikipedia, average citizens believe themselves to be on an equal intellectual footing with doctors and diplomats. All voices, even the most ridiculous, demand to be taken with equal seriousness, and any claim to the contrary is dismissed as undemocratic elitism. How did we get here, and what does this mean for the future of our democracy?
Tom Nichols is a U.S. Naval War College professor, and an adjunct at the U.S. Air Force School of Strategic Force Studies and the Harvard Extension School. He is a specialist on international security affairs, including U.S.-Russia relations, nuclear strategy and NATO issues. A nationally-known commentator on U.S. politics and national security, he is a columnist for USA Today and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. He served as a staff member in the U.S. Senate and has held fellowships at CSIS and the Harvard Kennedy School. He has taught at Dartmouth, La Salle and Georgetown. He is also a five-time undefeated 'Jeopardy!' champion.
About the Lecture Series
The Issues in National Security (INS ) lectures are specifically designed to offer scholarly lectures to the spouses, partners and significant others of our students; military/civilian employees assigned to the Naval War College and Naval Station Newport and its tenant activities; NWC Foundation members; and local-area retirees or active/reserve personnel.
Participation is voluntary and neither reading nor writing assignments are required. These lectures will be conducted online using Zoom.
Lectures will be held approximately every other week on Tuesday afternoons from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. followed by a 30-minute Family Discussion Group meeting.
Four lectures will be offered for the summer session. No formal academic credit will be awarded.

[@BobfromSydney]

I can't believe such an important lecture only has 52 likes. The only thing that would make this lecture better would be an actual solution to the problem of social attitudes towards knowledge.

[@LyndseyMacPherson]

Brilliant analysis, especially of colleges/universities.
Ultimately, in any age deemed an "age of information", you're going to have a portion of misinformation among the information. Still, it's a step forward, albeit via a bumpy ride.
I'm not sure, but am inclined to think civics, humanities, protocols and discernment need to be taught to young children in schools _in equal measure_ with writing and maths. Leaving such human development to chance is what's being played out now.