experts fallacy – An Aura of Fleeting Thoughts

Frankly speaking, I never thought life would be so exciting! We live in times when facts are stranger than fiction! Even the best fiction writers would not have been able to imagine the way we see intelligence and dumbness been played out every now and then! Join me, as we explore a funny, innocent looking and possibly the most damaging trait that lurks amongst all of us, nope, not the virus, this story is about the “expert” syndrome. We have a look into how this possibly originated, how it has evolved (or kind of devolved); so here we go!

As much as I wish to avoid, but I helplessly gravitate towards the topic of the “pandemic” ( not that I am obsessed by it), right now perhaps there is no other topic around the world that unites humanity the way the pandemic has! Either you are suffering more or suffering less, but the fact is you have earned yourself a ticket to this global show! Importantly this is a live study about how “experts” just ended up screwing the fate of millions of people the world over- by punching the right buttons at the wrong time and how the birth of overnight “experts” has possibly added to the chaos, creating more drama rather then providing solutions!

To begin with the pandemic is not a health issue, to begin with! Yes, sure enough a virus has crossed over from an animal to humans and this has in fact more to do with understanding the Virus, its behaviour, its potency, its vulnerabilities and ways to block, inhibit and restrict it form creating dis-ease or illness that can lead to fatality!Now just look who all are responsible in formulating strategies around the pandemic, no it’s not the virologists, neither are the immunologist , it is the doctors (who are supposed to pull those log tubes and ensure you live your life, even as they try to treat you with whatever they “think” works because “someone” told them so!). Sure enough, doctors will alone be able to save your life and keep you on this side of the world, no one is discrediting them, but the problem is that unless the “real experts” don’t give real solutions, all that doctors are left to do is struggle by trying out options and facing the never ending wrath of the patient’s families even as they are hanging on to their own dear lives with each passing moment! Other times, if it’s not doctors then depending on which country you reside in, it could be the head of the major religion that is followed in a country, or leaders in clinical research, bio-statisticians- yes, those gifted people who crunch numbers, extrapolate graphs and show the grim scenarios- straight out of a Hollywood movie- so that everyone is happy with any number less than that- this is the same shit like what you used to when you explained your maths scores to your parents- The conversation goes something like this-“Hey Dad, you see I got a C, and you should be grateful its not a F, something like that”! When all of these fail; you always have those invincible politicians becoming overnight Virologists and Health experts- who come on television and ask you to do everything and anything- from clapping, to banging your utensils to asking you for helping those who are more affected then yourself- so basically you burn down your house to provide warmth to the community! Hold your thoughts, with this pandemic here and let us visit another set of “experts”!

Alongside this pandemic, the world is also witnessing an increasing period of military tension and aggression whether it is encroachment of Indian land by China, the fragile nerves around the middle-east, the uneasy clam around the South China sea, The newly defined US- China Cold War ( I think a better term could “American Chop Suey” War!) Importantly, the war theaters of the world for some strange reason seem to be immune to the virus- making me wonder does the virus really exist! (well, don’t bother- it does!). Now with regards to this military flare up, if you are lucky to be in India or the USA, just switch on your Idiot- Box (yes the good old television) and flip to any of the news channels- you will be left dumb founded at the variety and diversity of suggestions/solutions and action plans thrown every few minutes, guess by whom? Yes, “the experts”! These experts have the answers, solutions, action points for all problems that the world is witnessing in real time and in few cases there are also animated VFX enabled decks which can play out scenarios with complete end-to-end detail and remember this- For every challenge that the world is facing- by evening all TV News channels the world over- have managed to get the experts (even before the nation or the government can lay their hands on their grey matter!). These experts then spell out strategies, action plans and hidden motives about the subject with great accuracy and convincing tenacity (putting even Nostradamus and other modern day fortune tellers to shame) the entire topic is laid open- all thread bare- often you are left wondering to which side do they belong- or are they the aliens from Mars who want to see humanity fight and finish off each other! Thankfully, the only commonality with these “experts” is that, no one is listening to them- no not even their audience! So what’s really happening- what is this phenomenon all about- why do we end up wasting prime satellite broadcast time what is this all about? Read on!

Since time in memorial, as civilizations have advanced, there has been the urge to dominate society with knowledge, information or power, the days we live today are no different, the only slight change perhaps, has been that we are also plagued by the space of mis-information, pseudo- knowledge and “self-proclaimed experts” more than ever before! The real problem accelerates because , even as the “real experts” are busy chipping away the challenge one step at a time- away form public glare- you have this abundance of “so-called experts” who seize the moment and occupy the void space of the real experts and convert the it into a glorified entertainment zone with no real sense or substance! Now, you may want to argue, why is that even allowed in the first place? Well, sadly that is how social engineering works to further what is called as “building narratives” and “getting social acceptance on opinions that are being sold” (irrespective whether they make sense or not)!

Consider the case of the pandemic, experts all along have debated, discussed and emphasized on cutting off people to people contact- well nations did it- what happened- did the situation improve? Well no if you are talking about absolute numbers, but yes, if you want to consider delaying a problem as a solution! If you are still wondering why this would have happened, well the answer is simple- remember I mentioned about “Immunologist” well yes, who were the centre piece to provide a solution- were all but ignored and not paid heed to as the world should have- you want to ask why? Well, you see creating economic adjustments and narratives and the promise of a new drug in the market makes vibrant economic sense and irrespective whether how accurate it is or not- the fact remains it serves the purpose of the few who drive and direct the societies the world over and once this is supplemented by the entertainment over media- you have a water tight case and everyone now believes that lock-downs are good! Wait until they realise that the cure has been worst than the disease and that by itself will be another story of social chaos!

Likewise, do you really think, armies across the world would decipher their strategy, potency and abilities over news channels and TV shows, well certainly not, than why the circus- this is called as opinion building- I mean you want citizens of a nation to support a decision of your’s to go to war- how would you get it done? Well, yes the classic way- ignite the patriotic lamp, create an enemy- communicate the over exaggerated threat and inform that this is the only way and you are the only one who can do it! That’s it! The nation is ready to go to war! Now, if you are wondering why would anyone do this, well, it plays well to the audience in the one countries who have just rudely awakened to their patriotic nerve and secondly helps to create a new order by bringing in distraction, chaos and uncertainty, not for one, but many countries around the world! In the connected times that we live in today, if USA catches cold, India will sneeze and the converse is also equally true!

So even as multitudes of ” so called experts” burn the midnight oil, fry our brains and occupy TV shows at prime times and keep throwing off solutions by the minute, the real experts are busy doing what really matters and the way it should be done- with focus and direction to create solutions to the problems at hand! You see these “overnight experts” have advise for everyone; whether it is the President of the USA or the Director General of WHO; they always have a suggestion for everyone, but for themselves! We should be thanking our stars, that The White House or The UN is as yet not taking these stunts seriously, if that happens, it will be the last sign of overall annihilation of intelligence form the face of the earth!

The only reason why this “expert” syndrome exists is because we are now kind of attuned to some “breaking news”, “some development”, “some news”, which may be good or bad, to make us feel our lives contextually better or worse each time that we switch on the TV and we are always left saying, “Great it was not me” and then moving on as if noting happened to the next circus! You see the real geniuses of the world don’t have time for TV shows and ranting off strategy on prime time! They are serious about what they do and they know what is at stake, likewise real politicians, statesman and business houses, they never waste time ranting off their next moves, secrets as a prime time event! Often,the ones’ who hardly have a figment of understanding of what’s really unfolding end up occupying the void places left by the real experts and since public memory is short, they are always forgotten and at times they themselves forget what is that they had said about a problem and often end up contradicting themselves as time flows!

The easiest way to note and steer clear of the “expert syndrome” is by knowing who is speaking about what! If the people who are speaking are not the ones’ who are solving the problem at hand, then no matter what, you can be rest assured they are just occupying the void and creating an entertainment quotient! Think about it! Had they really been experts and there is a criss at hand, where would they really have been? In a TV studio or at the place – Ground Zero- where the solution have to be found and implemented?!

Before I begin to sound like another “expert”, I will leave you here, urging you to reflect and check for yourself, how many “experts” you really know and if you too are an “expert” which one are you- the real one or the pseudo one!

Ciao for now, will be back soon with another article, until then stay wise, stay safe and enjoy your expertise at what you really do!

We are all, I presume safely living in the fag end of 2019…a few more days and the world media will drive home a rhetoric of how 2019 was bad and how 2020 holds the promise and elixir for a better and safer place- each year the same shit!– what changes is just the year number! As we complete the second decade of the 21st century- we all have moved a little closer to embrace our own end- climate crisis, plastic menace, man-made disasters, natural events- you name it and instances across the world are quite unsettling! No I don’t want to freak you out and proclaim doomsday is here or promise all will be fine- the pint here is a comical- paradoxical and interesting one-It is about the people who manage the affairs of the world- in some cases these jokers have been at the helm of the affairs for years and decades all the way- then the next question, Why the f**k they could not see any of the challenges of today developing while they were still manageable and preventable- what made us to realize all shit has broken loose only after it hit the roof and drenched us all into a colossal shit shower! Well my friends, one of the contributing reasons behind all this hellish nonsense are the so-called experts- yes- those yesteryear- silver and pepper styled fragile bags of bones and brains (with or without intelligence) and more recently these young so-called flashes of ingenuity (which appear so from levels of diminishing IQ’s)- who are a major reason for getting the world into the mess that we have all straight walked into even as the planet maintains a circular path along the Sun without ever returning to exactly the same spot (just to remind you, we are all traveling in space- the Sun, the Moon, the solar system in it’s entirety moves- so actually for all practical purposes you are never in your life exactly at the same spot ever!- for more details- pick up any Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics)

Who are these experts- well long before the advent of modern developed nations and the modern slavery that we are all a part of, societies all over the world had a concept of “wise men” these were trusted aides to kings and emperors and often had innate know how about certain aspects (if not all) which would go to develop strategies and consolidate the future of the kingdoms- the future as in – as seen in their context of being in that time! Subsequently as societies evolved, documented histories and wise words began to emerge all around the world pertaining to different subjects and aspects- then there began the race to be a knowledge leader- “the wisest among the wise” This too helped to a certain level with rapid technological progress being made possible- as modes of transport began to develop- societal connect began and with started the times of knowledge hybridization- wherein the purity of form and context was lost forever and rapid templates began to emerge in the maddening rush to develop processes to optimize utility of resources and materials! This is where the modern day experts (who are nothing but manipulators- who have been given the role either by virtue of the business systems or the political institutions! It is the emergence of these new types of modern day experts that has led to major screw ups that the world has to sit and clean today!

These dangerous experts (driven by agenda’s of business houses and government’s) have only one goal to carry out a propaganda machine and keep yelling and shouting in one direction for a decade, then make a 180 degree turn and start shouting the other way around! Case in point- Plastic- well it was hailed as the modern day equivalent of a path breaking invention- when polymer industry made rapid progress- with nylon and other polymers entering into virtually every bit of our life- not once did any of these gifted experts pause to think what do we do to do away with the lot after use- the reason for this is simple- it was more of an economic and political necessity to keep offering society some new toy , some new nonsense to deal with as the really wise (read sly) people ended up making and raking in their dollars across the world even as it cost lives of people and animals through exposure to the new materials in a hazardous way- not to forget the irreparable damage done to the environment!

These modern day so-called experts are outright dangerous and idiots (exceptions to this rule are there- and it is these few exceptions- miles away from the limelight of awards and business gangs and political influences-the real ones’!) The modern day experts have only one agenda- either self driven or an organisation driven or a political establishment driven- to sell a concept to the society in context to believe what is been told is in their larger interests and these people are doing a f**king favor to the whole universe by slogging to get it to them- and are always ready with the gracious award speech even before these idiots get one- the ones’ awarding them are equally idiotic and melodramatic in their own charming ways!

So, by now, you may want to ask me so what is this whining and agitation all about and can we even do anything about it- if yes what? Well my friend, the good news is we can do something about it, each one us little and smart things, the bad news- well it is too late- even if we start to change to lead and develop mindful societies- for us to see the change translating into real life- we will have to take re-birth and be back in another 100 odd years- provided these idiots don’t nuke the planet out!

The reason why we live in an era of chaos and uncertainty with so many so-called intelligent whiz kids and experts around is precisely because they are first rate idiots who are nothing but communication machines educated to believe that they are experts!

The only way to beat this nonsense and save some sanity for yourself and for anyone that you think you care enough is- use Common Sense. Yes, common sense – not so common- the only ingredient when used and tested against the experts- rips them naked and exposes their idiotic belief systems and hypocrisy loud and clear! This again has to be an initiative at a society level- remember- you may be wise- a lion too- but against a pack of jackals and manipulating wild dogs – individually you will not stand a chance! That’s the law of nature- Loud voices are often heard and truthful whispers are melted away into the oblivion….

So till you become someone, or are part of an ecosystem that is led by “common sense” keep life simple- and have a realistic approach and cut down on the insane desire to consume everything around you- be a product or a service- every time you negate a consumption- you would have done your bit to screw up a so-called expert in some remote corner of the world and that will help the world become a better place with one expert less – each day- each act! Needs are few and can be managed, greed knows no bound- greed for ruling the people, their behaviour, their lifestyles, their thinking, this insane greed to develop a new technology lead slavery- will be the ultimate fallacy of the modern society that we live in and at some point in time in the future all these crazy consumption lead life style will come crashing down like a pack of cards! No prophecy here- plain common-sense, apply and see for yourself!

I will cut it out here…allowing you to think and play with your neurons a bit and see what you can do to have that one so called expert out!

Ciao…bye for now…will catch up soon, in the meantime do drop in suggestions on what you want to read next at parimal.aluri@simplifylives.com!