Tom Nichols on the Death of Expertise

Podsongs

Tom Nichols is an academic specialist on international affairs, currently a professor at the U.S. Naval War College and at the Harvard Extension School. His work deals with issues involving Russia, nuclear weapons, and national security affairs. He was previously a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Nichols taught international relations as well as Soviet and Russian Affairs at Dartmouth College and Georgetown University. He was also a fellow in the International Security Program at the Harvard Kennedy School. Nichols was the Chairman of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College where he also held the Forrest Sherman Chair of Public Diplomacy. Nichols is a former Secretary of the Navy Fellow and also a fellow in the International Security Program and the Project on Managing the Atom at the Harvard Kennedy School.

LYRICS:

Having strong opinions
Is not the same as knowing things
Experts are more likely to be right
Now we're all....
Google-fuelled and wiki-fed
Conspiracies, easily led
Our feelings matter more to us than facts
Experts say unanimously
It's the death of expertise
Democracy's in jeopardy
We're our own worst enemy
the death of expertise
Ignorance was made a virtue by
Social entrepreneurs who
Confuse obscurantism with humility
But now we're
all omnicompetent
And demanding our entitlement
Our society could quickly cease to function
Experts say unanimously
It's the death of expertise
Democracy's in jeopardy
We're our own worst enemy
the death of expertise
Ensuring all have equal rights
Doesn't mean that all opinions are right
And disagreeings not insulting
Saying you're wrong's not saying you're stupid
It's not elitist or undemocratic
To say that professionals know more about their work
than you do
Experts say unanimously
It's the death of expertise
Democracy's in jeopardy
We're our own worst enemy
the death of expertise