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The Death of Expertise Tom Nichols (Professor of National Security Affairs, Professor of National Security Affairs, US Naval War College)

The Death of Expertise By Tom Nichols (Professor of National Security Affairs, Professor of National Security Affairs, US Naval War College)

Summary

From the anti-vaccination movement to citizen blogging to uninformed attacks on GMOs, the nation has witnessed a surge in intellectual egalitarianism. While increased access to information undoubtedly brings some societal benefits, the leap to enlightenment that millions of lightly educated people believe they make after scouring WebMD or Wikipedia undermines established sources of knowledge.

The Death of Expertise Summary

The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters by Tom Nichols (Professor of National Security Affairs, Professor of National Security Affairs, US Naval War College)

People are now exposed to more information than ever before, provided both by technology and by increasing access to every level of education. 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. As Tom Nichols shows in The Death of Expertise, this rejection of experts has occurred for many reasons, including the openness of the internet, the emergence of a customer satisfaction model in higher education, and the transformation of the news industry into a 24-hour entertainment machine. Paradoxically, the increasingly democratic dissemination of information, rather than producing an educated public, has instead created an army of ill-informed and angry citizens who denounce intellectual achievement. Nichols has deeper concerns than the current rejection of expertise and learning, noting that when ordinary citizens believe that no one knows more than anyone else, democratic institutions themselves are in danger of falling either to populism or to technocracy-or in the worst case, a combination of both. The Death of Expertise is not only an exploration of a dangerous phenomenon but also a warning about the stability and survival of modern democracy in the Information Age.

The Death of Expertise Reviews

Buy this book. And read it. Regularly...the book should be required reading for every physicist, at every level: from A-level student to assistant professor to Nobel laureate. It should also be on the reading list of every teacher and academic, regardless of their discipline. * Physics World *
Nichols' book needs to be read by all academics. * Philip Moriarty, Times Higher Education Supplement *
Excellent... makes important points and offers valuable insight, particularly when it comes to the role of the internet and social media in our political environment... essential reading for anyone interested in this pressing subject. * The Washington Post *
Nichols has a sense of humour and chooses his examples well. His anger is a lot more attractive than the standard condescension. * Robert Armstrong, Financial Times *
Meticulously researched * Sheril Kirshenbaum, Science *

About Tom Nichols (Professor of National Security Affairs, Professor of National Security Affairs, US Naval War College)

Tom Nichols is Professor of National Security Affairs at the US Naval War College, an adjunct professor at the Harvard Extension School, and a former aide in the U.S. Senate. He is also the author of several works on foreign policy and international security affairs, including The Sacred Cause, No Use: Nuclear Weapons and U.S. National Security, Eve of Destruction: The Coming Age of Preventive War, and The Russian Presidency.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ; Introduction ; A Nation of Explainers ; Chapter One ; Higher Education: The Customer is Always Right ; Chapter Two ; Let me Google That for You: The Impact of the Internet ; Chapter Three ; History is Bunk, and So is Science: How Conversation Became Exhausting ; Chapter Four ; The New Journalism - and New Journalists ; Chapter Five ; Don't Blame Us: Why Expertise and Policy Aren't the Same Thing ; Chapter Six ; When the Experts are Wrong ; Conclusion ; Democracy, Expertise, and Citizenship

Additional information

GOR008580416
9780190469412
0190469412
The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters by Tom Nichols (Professor of National Security Affairs, Professor of National Security Affairs, US Naval War College)
Used - Like New
Hardback
Oxford University Press Inc
2017-04-27
272
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
The book has been read, but looks new. The book cover has no visible wear, and the dust jacket is included if applicable. No missing or damaged pages, no tears, possible very minimal creasing, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins

Customer Reviews - The Death of Expertise