Why Do We Fear Experts?

Just when did we become so distrustful of people who know things? “Unfortunately, this skepticism has metamorphosed over the decades into a determination that no one with special knowledge or experience is worth listening to. If Rembrandt were alive today, he’d be reviled by art students who don’t know how to prepare a canvas. Beethoven would be booed by experimental composers who couldn’t identify the key of C major on a bet, while Duke Ellington would be denigrated by rappers who couldn’t pick out a simple melody, much less aspire to the harmonic empyrean.”