The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols

The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters is the book you never knew you needed. You’ve likely noticed the increasing divide in public discourse on politics, health, and technology. After reading a headline or two on Facebook, people fancy themselves experts on epidemiology, public policy, and financial regulations. The Death of Expertise dives into the prevalent rejection of expertise worldwide, focusing on American society.

This relatively short book packs a punch on every page. Nichols discusses the angry and ill-informed citizenry of today and how we got to this point, and how this phenomenon isn’t new, just exacerbated by technology. You also learn how America is in danger of pivoting away from democracy (or democratic republic as discussed in the book) and more toward a technocracy or populism-style government.

I loved this book. Nichols talks about everything from the merits of colleges, the good and bad of social media (spoiler: there’s very little that’s good), and the concept that while experts are occasionally wrong, they are consistently less wrong than you and I.

This reminds me of a delightful moment in The Big Bang Theory where Sheldon and Stuart are arguing.

Stuart: Oh, Sheldon, I'm afraid you couldn't be more wrong.

Sheldon: More wrong? Wrong is an absolute state and not subject to gradation.

Stuart: Of course it is. It's a little wrong to say a tomato is a vegetable, it's very wrong to say it's a suspension bridge.

The Death of Expertise shows us all how many degrees of wrong there are and how vehemently people stick to them despite their wrongness. Sheldon goes on to accept his wrongness, but most people in real life do not admit when they are wrong and often double down on their misinformation. Nichols carries this theme throughout the book and discusses how it shows up blatantly and subtly every day.

Grab a copy of this book, set aside your ego, and learn why we all need to be more informed, less opinionated, more open to learning, and less dismissive of experts in their fields.

5/5 Highly Recommend

Book Club Reading Guide: The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols