The Illness of Experts

Blind Men and the Elephant – A Poem by John Godfrey Saxe
Here is John Godfrey Saxe’s (1816-1887) version of Blind Men and the Elephant:

It was six men of Indostan,
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear,
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"

The Third approach'd the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," -quoth he- "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee:
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," -quoth he,-
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said- "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," -quoth he,- "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

I hear it regularly, “I’ll just leave that to the experts” “Should you be doing that? Are you an expert?”. And, I completely understand where this mentality comes from. The desire for safety, security, and the need for assurance. We see experts as having all of the answers. Because they have spent their lives examining one very specific aspect of life, we consider them a reliable authority on that matter. They can relay fine details on their topic of choice and this level of detail offers us a sense of security.

At one point in time, life wasn’t quite so certain. As a young species we would stare out into the dark, afraid for our lives, unsure of what was safe, which way to go. The world was a big unknown. And, there is a seemingly infinite amount to know about this place that we live in. So, our distant ancestors had to get to know this world, what to eat, to learn how to live. And collectively, this knowledge, combined with experience, offered greater security. Humans had greater peace. Within communities we could amass the knowledge needed to both survive and thrive.

Along this journey for our kind, there came a point at which we collectively made a decision to focus intently on the gathering of information, and to do so in a specialized rather than generalized way. Before this era, most families had within them all of the skills necessary for survival. And, those skills were definitely held within the immediate community. The ability to build a shelter, make clothing, grow or collect food, and find medicines. These were the generalist skills of every household. It is true that individuals might excel at one or two of these, and may offer that skill up to the community, however, it did not mean that they had no comfort with the other skills.

This natural preference to focus on those things we excelled at was beneficial to the community and led to beautiful results. Amazing foods, stunning homes, timeless woven cloth. This artisanal time led to the advancement of many of the skills we now value.

However, an even more pronounced version of this is seen today. It is no longer the case that although we each might excel in one area of life, we have comfort with many. In fact, as a whole, we are a rather fragile species now. The generalists are a rare bunch, where now we find a landscape filled with individuals who can offer great detail on the shipping routes for freight liners or the process for filing medical documents within their clinic, but who could not clothe themselves if needed. People who can recite the mission statement of a company, but cannot find edible plants in the landscape around them. We have scientists who can give enormous detail about the properties and behaviours of various flammable compounds, but who cannot bake a loaf of bread. And frankly, it’s no wonder. To amass such a degree of detail on many different topics takes time and focus. This focus, if it becomes too narrow, acts as blinders to all else going on around us. We become blind to the skills and experiences of caring for our own needs. Our voluntary blindness is not unlike the old men and the elephant. We can see only one part of life, and are woefully ignorant of the rest. To have that degree of specialization while still exercising the generalist skills of meeting one’s own needs is a difficult task. We simply can’t “know it all”. The specialization that we saw in the artisanal era is not the same as what we see today. This is in and of itself a remarkable issue. Humans no longer have the skills to be a human…successfully, over time.

However, this isn’t the greatest concern. Most alarming is the mentality which this has bred. Humans have to a large degree passed off all responsibility for the matters of their own survival to others what they will likely never meet AND they have stopped trusting their own abilities to such a degree that they think this is what’s best for their families…to leave it to experts.

This mentality has led to not only blind (or at least veiled) faith in those seen as having authority on a matter, it has led to a dangerous ignorance about our own needs and how to meet them.

This same deference to authority has led to poisoning waterways, destruction of forests, malformed babies due to chemical exposure in utero. The experts surely would have told us if it wasn’t safe…right?

Don’t get me wrong. Expertise is an important thing. It adds to our collective experience. It’s valuable. However, when combined with the abandon of knowledge and skill in meeting our own needs, it becomes a very dangerous tool.

This mentality is so prevalent I would go so far as to suggest it is the dominant sickness in our day. This illness keeps millions ignorant and rewards that ignorance. Deferring to experts is seen as an important trait in a progressive society. It is considered wise to entrust all of your needs into the hands of those you will never meet.

Although I am not going to try to convince anyone to gain every skill necessary to survive on their own, completely isolated from everyone else, I am going to suggest that you ponder the things that have happened in our world because of placing responsibility for our lives as humans in various “authorities”. You might consider what has happened to the health of those we love, or the quality of our water and food, or the number of people who have been displaced for a material that they happen to live to close to. How are these connected to the deference to experts? Although I may not get to hear the results of you mulling on this topic, I know your family’s lives will be enriched by you asking it. And even more so by beginning to take back those beautiful and valued skills of being a human.

From my home fire to yours, hai hai.