I hold a minor degree in a science field {Nursing]. I have many more college science credits than my degree requires. I read science books habitually and watch science videos. I,though, am not a scientist. I am simply a fan of science. I consider the PhD entry level into any science profession. It requires a PhD to critique a science claim and offer counter claims. That is why I get my science from scientists not politicians , preachers , or newscast talking heads. I would no more ask my physician for advice on repairing my trucks transmission than I would ask my mechanic for his opinion on the results of the latest experiment at CERN. I jam to Keith Richards and Trey Anastasio . I would never post a youtube video of any pathetic attempt I would make at doing a cover version of "Brown Sugar" or "Free". I will leave that up to the professionals. But people do everyday. Why are people so arrogant ? Have we lost the ability to recognize expertise?
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In America, at least, I feel like there is an adamadversion against elitism of education. People, perhaps via culture or education, think equal rights means your opinion is of equal value to an expert. I think some academics are off their rocker, but eh
but now let me answer your question with a question - would you rather follow an educated idiot or an intelligent yokel?
Educated idiot is an oxymoron. If I had to survive in a swamp I'd choose intelligent yokel.
"Why are people so arrogant ? Have we lost the ability to recognize expertise?"
Expertise is losing to innovation.
A 20 year old PHD is being thought as basics to A level students today.
So a skeptic can easily dismiss a guy with PHD as sprouting nonsense which happens more then it should.
Though I do have to blame that to arrogance and bias of the guy with a PHD for that.
You can see a historian with a PHD in history still claim that Jesus(of the bible) 100% existed.
Then you see another historian with PHD say the opposite.
Expertise is not only influenced by bias but also by capitalism and interests.
I don't think that there would be a scientist that would be stupid enough to go against the scientific community with a claim if it means losing his job and not get funded, even if he is correct.
Charles Darwin is a fine example of how hard it is to go against the scientific consensus even when you are right, have the money and can support your claims with people to back up your hypothesis. (10+ years of rejection before he was even considered)
Look at what happened to Prof. Kalisch:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122669909279629451
One other thing to point out is that a PHD means nothing in a field unless the PHD is dedicated to the subject in question which tends to be very specific on a particular aspect of the field.
Usually this means that when a guy with a PHD tries to discuss other problems which was not part of his PHD, he ends up either lacking knowledge or sprout what others have always repeated without double checking.
I honestly do not trust any expert in any field unless he demonstrates he is up to date in the particular topic being discussed.
"Why are people so arrogant ? Have we lost the ability to recognize expertise?"
No, we learned to recognize that the experts tend to be arrogant even if they don't wish to be because of social pressure.
I was refering to people with 3-4 year bible college degrees interpreting data from cosmology or biology and "proving" it wrong or offering alternative claims. They remind me of people on you tube who post videos of themselves saying "This is the first time I've attempted this..." . I don't catch many atheists reinterpreting cosmology . Perhaps sharing what geniuses discovered but not offering their own goofy counter-claims to legitimate science. Rush Limbaugh has a degree in journalism and is a sportscaster. Now he is the rights chief political analyst and pseudo-debunker of climate change.
When you get down to it and ask serious questions to people it does not matter how many degrees one has and from where they got them, it all has to do with with how much IQ one has and how much he cares about the truth.
This is one of the reasons why children born from hard core theistic families rebel against theism and end up refuting the claims even with all the influence.
If you care sufficiently about the truth and study your own religion because you want to believe it is the truth, you will deconvert in the end regardless of your qualifications.
Christians are hypocrites that do not care about the truth, and it does not matter how well qualified they are, nothing would change that.
"I was refering to people with 3-4 year bible college degrees"
You seem to think that there is a difference between them and the ones with actual PHD in the subject.
There is little difference, maybe more arrogance.
You might find one with actual PHD's doing just the same.
"That is the problem of religion, it makes perfectly decent people say and do things only a mad man would do on his own."
-Sam Harris
In the sciences of cosmology or evolutionary biology have there been any advancements made by people without PhDs ? How about really great music by non-musicians?
chimp3 - "In the sciences of cosmology or evolutionary biology have there been any advancements made by people without PhDs ?"
All the time; although typically in the course of perusing a PhD.
OK , I agree to expand that question to Doctoral thesis also. That includes doctoral thesis by bad ass musicians like Brian May.