{"id":79464,"date":"2026-01-23T02:11:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T07:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=79464"},"modified":"2026-01-23T02:11:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T07:11:49","slug":"expertise-shouldnt-be-a-bad-word-expert-consensus-guides-science-and-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/expertise-shouldnt-be-a-bad-word-expert-consensus-guides-science-and-society\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Expertise\u2019 shouldn\u2019t be a bad word \u2013 expert consensus guides science and society"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79465\" src=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Expertise.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"680\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Expertise.jpg 680w, https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Expertise-250x111.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A growing distrust of expertise is reshaping the terrain of science in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Since the pandemic, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/osf.io\/preprints\/socarxiv\/u95aw_v2\">partisan divide<\/a>\u00a0over science has widened dramatically. While\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/science\/2026\/01\/15\/americans-confidence-in-scientists\/\">77% of Americans<\/a>\u00a0have at least a fair amount of confidence that scientists act in the best interests of the public, that breaks down to 90% of Democrats and 65% of Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>If people think scientists are trying to impose their political beliefs rather than expressing honest scientific judgments in the pursuit of truth, public trust in expert consensus will continue to erode.<\/p>\n<p>With recent events, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replacing the expert\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/11\/us\/politics\/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccine-panel.html\">vaccine panel<\/a>\u00a0at the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Trump administration threatening to withdraw\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/02\/us\/politics\/trump-college-funding.html\">research funding<\/a>\u00a0from universities that don\u2019t follow its ideological dictates, the political divide in public perception may grow even deeper.<\/p>\n<p>As\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=HV57prsAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao\">social scientists<\/a>\u00a0who\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=paVll7oAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao\">study the role of science in society<\/a>, we are deeply concerned about the decline of public trust in expertise, which is often fueled by politicians who manipulate people\u2019s suspicions about experts. Skepticism is sometimes justified, of course. But a system based on expertise is the best one modern democracies have come up with to offer guidance on the various complex issues they face.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Who is an expert?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Before you can place your trust in a community of experts, you need a way to determine who counts as an expert. Modern societies usually do this through a sequence of training within accredited schools and universities \u2013 institutions whose reputations depend on their ability to train reliable and trustworthy experts.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the ancient alchemists\u2019 guilds or modern elites, science is not secret, nor gated by family descent or social ties. Today anyone is permitted to become a scientific expert by attaining academic degrees and certifications and establishing a public track record of published research, teaching and contributions to one\u2019s field.<\/p>\n<p>The government also plays a critical role by requiring doctors or engineers to hold certain degrees or by granting universities formal quality certifications, such as accreditation. As an individual, you can\u2019t evaluate the trustworthiness of every person claiming to have expertise \u2013 whether a heart surgeon or an electrician. The governmental license carried by these professionals makes that unnecessary.<\/p>\n<p>In any field of knowledge, there is a web of legitimacy, knotted together by visible signals of trust, such as degrees, publications, affiliations and accreditations. Expertise is a team sport.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>What is expert consensus?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The most reliable guidance is based on a rigorous group decision-making process, in which people with diverse training and experience contribute their expertise to a dialogue aimed at reaching consensus. The scientific approach to consensus is transparent and deliberate: Scientific consensus processes \u2013 such as the National Academies\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalacademies.org\/process\">consensus study<\/a>\u00a0process, or a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prisma-statement.org\/\">PRISMA<\/a>\u00a0review \u2013 are systematic in incorporating the credible evidence that is available and synthesizing different expert judgments.<\/p>\n<p>The system, honed over decades, is based on the theory that better decisions can be achieved by systematically\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1257\/0895330041371321\">aggregating<\/a>\u00a0many\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/j.ctt7sp9c\">independent<\/a>\u00a0opinions \u2013 if the group is well trained, draws from a common body of evidence, relies on a common understanding of research practices, and each of its members are able to independently weigh the evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Such communities of experts arise in many settings, from engineers recommending building codes to epidemiologists proposing policies to contain a viral epidemic.<\/p>\n<p>An expert community doesn\u2019t need everyone to be right \u2013 or even to agree \u2013 in every case for the process to generate useful results. As long as each person is usually right and the community deliberates systematically on the basis of reason and evidence, the resulting consensus will be the best that can be achieved within the limits of current knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>In short, expert consensus requires trained experts, common evidence and systematic deliberation.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Professional consensus vs. individual opinion<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Expert consensus doesn\u2019t mean that experts agree on everything, or that everyone must agree with the experts. In a democracy, expert advice is valuable, but it\u2019s not the last word.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Bill of Rights enshrines the idea that freedom of speech is fundamental to good government and to leading good lives. But there\u2019s a distinction between speaking one\u2019s mind and speaking from authority. Experts have a right to express their personal opinions and also a duty to exercise care when speaking in areas of their expertise.<\/p>\n<p>This distinction is at issue in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/cases\/case-files\/chiles-v-salazar\/\">Chiles vs Salazar<\/a>\u00a0case before the Supreme Court. It centers on a Colorado state law that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/supreme-court-to-decide-if-colorados-law-banning-conversion-therapy-violates-free-speech-265529\">prohibits<\/a>\u00a0so-called \u201cconversion therapy\u201d for gay or trans children.<\/p>\n<p>Does doing so violate the free speech rights of therapists? It\u2019s not illegal to believe trans children can be talked out of being trans, it\u2019s just illegal to pursue that practice as a licensed professional, because\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ama-assn.org\/system\/files\/conversion-therapy-issue-brief.pdf\">medical experts<\/a>\u00a0have reached a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.apa.org\/topics\/lgbtq\/evidence-against-conversion-therapy\">consensus<\/a>\u00a0that conversion therapy is both useless and harmful.<\/p>\n<p>Expert consensus is necessary to make sound decisions based on science and evidence, but that doesn\u2019t mean experts must abstain from politics or refrain from expressing dissenting opinions. In fact, political restrictions on scientific debate weaken science, as seen in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/us\/universitypress\/subjects\/history\/history-science-and-technology\/science-russia-and-soviet-union-short-history?format=PB&amp;isbn=9780521287890#contents\">repressive societies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>What does expert consensus provide?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>In our fractious political climate, people sometimes think divergent expert opinions mean that consensus does not exist, or no experts can be trusted. Some people say, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu\/article\/support-for-doing-your-own-research-is-associated-with-covid-19-misperceptions-and-scientific-mistrust\/\">Do your own research<\/a>,\u201d which often leads to rejecting consensus and falling victim to conspiracies and disinformation.<\/p>\n<p>In practice, consensus is compatible with substantial disagreement. In many fields, scientific consensus deals with broad patterns rather than individual cases. For example, medical experts may agree on the nature of a specific condition, and the average efficacy of a given treatment, yet make different predictions about the benefits for a specific patient.<\/p>\n<p>Society faces pressing questions about the behavior of complex and uncertain systems: How much is climate likely to change if CO\u2082 emissions continue at the current rate \u2013 and what ecological changes should we expect? What accounts for changing cancer rates \u2013 and what are the most promising paths to develop a broad \u201ccure\u201d? Are AIs developing intelligence and self-awareness \u2013 and how can they be designed to be behave safely? What social institutions are essential for human flourishing \u2013 and how can they be preserved?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the fundamental role of democratic government to determine which goals we as a society pursue and how to balance competing values. And when we face high-stakes issues involving complex systems and uncertain approaches, scientific expert consensus can act as an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/books\/honest-broker\/A41AD4D7D14077165807DBE057B5FAF9\">honest broker<\/a>\u00a0to provide a menu of possible approaches and predictions for each one\u2019s likely consequences.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Author Bios:<\/strong> Micah Altman is a Research Scientist, MIT Libraries at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Philip N. Cohen is Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A growing distrust of expertise is reshaping the terrain of science in the United States. Since the pandemic, the\u00a0partisan divide\u00a0over science has widened dramatically. While\u00a077% of Americans\u00a0have at least a fair amount of confidence that scientists act in the best interests of the public, that breaks down to 90% of Democrats and 65% of Republicans. [&hellip;]\n&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/expertise-shouldnt-be-a-bad-word-expert-consensus-guides-science-and-society\/\" class=\"more\">learn more&rarr;<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[11612],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-79464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science-tech","tag-expertise"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Expertise\u2019 shouldn\u2019t be a bad word \u2013 expert consensus guides science and society - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/expertise-shouldnt-be-a-bad-word-expert-consensus-guides-science-and-society\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Expertise\u2019 shouldn\u2019t be a bad word \u2013 expert consensus guides science and society - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A growing distrust of expertise is reshaping the terrain of science in the United States. 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