A book review by Chris L’Heureux
Current technology exposes people to massive and ever-increasing amounts of information. Nichols argues that this trove of knowledge paradoxically makes us dumber in his well-researched book. A small bit of knowledge fuels human bias giving us a false reason to believe we are experts. The Death of Expertise lays out how we got here.
Nichols, a professor at the US Naval War College, codifies something we see every day on TV talk shows and news channels: everyone is as smart as everyone else. ‘You’re wrong’ is the same as ‘You’re stupid.’ Reasoned arguments convince nobody and how we feel rules the day. Why do we all think we’re experts? We have access to massive amounts of instantaneous information, and we lack the ability to determine if it’s real or fake. We need to pause and reflect but technology imbibes us to comment without thinking. Our education system gives us an inflated sense of self. Everyone gets a trophy because bad grades aren’t good for business; top grades go to our heads. These things combine in the information space that feeds bias. Anti-vaxxers are a notable example. Despite many scientific studies to the contrary, the idea that the MMR vaccine leads to autism still exists. No doubt this problem will grow as 5G and AI make the information we look for easier to come by.
This danger in the military is greater. We flippantly talk in terms of mastery and claim ourselves experts in the fundamentals despite changing jobs every two years or less. Our personnel system values the breadth of experience and we hardly come close to hitting the 10,000-hour rule on any specific skill. Denying evidence to stay aligned with values and beliefs sounds like fighting the plan and not the enemy. How can I make the facts fit my theory? There are plenty of historical examples; the Chinese intervention in the Korean War readily comes to mind.
Nichols supplies few prescriptions. His stand-out recommendation is to develop the skill of metacognition: understanding one’s own thoughts. Studies show the less one knows about a topic, the more confident they are in their knowledge of the topic. Self-awareness might be the only way to get past this bias. But how?
Be eclectic. Get your information from various sources and perspectives. Read things that you know will piss you off and reflect. Study and be wary of bias. Take time to think. Nourish self-doubt. Question everything, especially your beliefs and cultivate someone to challenge you. This will help you realize that you do not have expert knowledge. How does the quote go? ‘The more I learn, the less I know.’ Lastly, listen to experts. That requires trust because they are not always correct. Experts have a better guess informed by their depth of knowledge.
While nothing in this book was novel, it is something to consider and worth a look to anyone who wants to better understand how we got to where we are.
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Lieutenant Colonel Christopher L’Heureux is an Armor Officer who enjoys running, sampling whiskey, and thinking about big ideas.
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