Just taking a sec to reflect on how experts really got masks entirely wrong. Something technocratic libs/dems need to deal with.
This robs science and "experts" of so much credibility. For weeks the CDC, Surgeon General and the entire media yelled about how "masks don't help."

And now wearing masks is basically a liberal religion. (As it might well be).
Much of the population already skeptical of science and experts (who steered us into the recession and into endless wars) will *rationally* look at this ridiculous 180 and get their own views confirmed

We need a media ecosystem that doesn't *exclusively* feed into "ha how stupid and cruel that some of these people don't wear masks" and also introspects that they were suggesting the exact same thing a few months back.

You can see how we could all stand to be a bit more humble.

For "experts" to gain back credibility, they will need to demonstrate an actual track record of reflecting reality and handling risk with skin in the game as Nassim Taleb calls it.

Can you take that too far? Sure.

But expertise isn't going to last long without accountability.

Skin in the Game with "intellectuals" and "experts" is a concept everyone should be familiar with.

Either way, it is intellectual bankruptcy to derive your credentials solely from the fact that there are people more uninformed than you are.

I remember when someone replied to Naval's tweet advising folks to buy masks back then with "but masks don't work acc. experts!"

And Naval said, "then why do doctors wear them?" Honestly this was the perfect response and should have been all that was ever needed re this question

Many liberals in the replies (I'm generalizing ofc, but many Vox readers) went in on Naval for spreading "misinformation" and they're probably all mask proselytizers now.

Grandma's wisdom IS often much more practically useful than idiotic experts without skin in the game.

This doesn't mean expertise isn't useful and that we should all become baseless conspiracy theorists who listen only to folk tales, BUT skepticism of expertise *based upon their lack of skin in the game* is a **good thing.**

Hating the right for being "anti science" on masks specifically sounds extremely hollow when the "science" people made the dumbest fucking mistake on the most obvious and basic and important question about virus spread.
Be skeptical of experts with nothing to lose from bad advice

I mainly mean this about liberals who use "defer to the experts" as an answer for everything to the right.

It's very similar to "we trust our intelligence agencies" and the FBI when they are against Trump. The same agencies who lied us into Iraq?
The same FBI as COINTELPRO?

Today's FBI isn't exactly the same as then (tho foreign intelligence still has extremely bad incentives and has had no accountability for getting it all utterly wrong before).

But the norm now in vogue by Resistance types and liberals of blindly "deferring to experts who have nothing to lose" as an answer to any criticism or worse, as a weapon to wield against "dumb Republicans" or "orange monster" is a sad, sad development.