Once an academic has their title (Dr, PhD etc), they
seem to have a life protected by that title, but are they always an academic? I
mean; would you let a 60 year old mechanic who has not worked on a modern car
and who got their certificate 40 years ago fix your modern car? And just because
one says they are a mechanic, does this mean they can fix anything mechanical?
I see people with Dr in front of their names...but what expertise is it for? Could
be for art for we know.
They can go on and read a Google document, or watch
a TED talk just like everyone else can if they are interested in a topic, but then
use this to market themselves as is they knew it all along. I would say some
academics get presented with an idea they are not that knowledgeable about, go
and do some basic research, then come back into an argument making out they are
experts in that area also. Like all aspects of working life, there are good and
bad in everything, There are doctors who are better than others, yet both
passed the same tests. Some academics are just good at memorising data from
text books, sadly, the concept of having a good memory seems to class you as
smart.
If you got your title 40 years ago, and many things
have changed since then, and you don’t need to renew your academic title, then
everything you have learned since then is just as accessible to everyone.
So why do we assume that because someone has a academic
title (that they use to persuade others) that everything they say must have
been learned via academic studies. I mean I can read a book about subatomic
particles, be very understanding of current information, maybe know a bit more
that some academic who got the title 40 years ago, but my knowledge will not be
preferred over the titled academic. The other thing I have always had a concern
with is novel thinking.
If I had a theory about subatomic particles and how
they act in a given situation, as an non academic, my view would not pass into
the academician world unless an academic took my idea. I think an example would
be my system one and two embedded heuristic idea. Yes it maybe be raw and not written
in a academic way, but I don’t think you can get away from the fact that there
are ways in which heuristics are embedded into our minds. I think some
academics despise anyone outside the academic world coming up with ideas and
concepts. But just imagine for a moment if a world leading academic did come up
with my concept a write a book about it, there would be lesser academics all
over the world praising the ideas and using it on blogs to explain, for
example; why it is hard to override (as one cannot unlearn) a system two
embedded heuristic with a system one heuristic.
Why do we take academic hearsay as the only truth
in so many areas of life. It seems having a title in front of your name gives
you some magic pass into the world of “you must be or are always right”, and
sadly many who cannot think for themselves just agree with everything they say
and say; “they’re the expert they should know”. I am not saying that all
experts think that they are always experts and say they are right all of the
time, but there are many that seem to ride on the “expertise chariot” and use their
title to promote their subjective opinions in all areas outside their original
study.
Let me put
something to you. An academic is only an academic up to the point they became
an academic, everything they learn after that is just as accessible to every
other thinking person.
Say to become an academic, you have to read and
memorised a book, you do that and pass the test at the end with a 99% score.
Great, you are now an academic and do no further research into that study. Then
say another person come along who has never studied and was not an academic. This
person was self educated and read not only the book that you did that granted
the academic pass and accompanying title, but also continued to learn and study
other topics of similar nature. This person actually became more knowledgeable
about the topic than the titled academic. This person writes a theory and so
does the non-academic person about how to solve a systemic problem. Both
theories are submitted, but instantly the non academic is passed off as non
credible because there is no title to their name. As an academic, their idea
gets used while the non-academic goes away being told their idea will not work.
But what if the idea presented by the non academic was in fact the better
concept, yet is lost forever because of the theory that only academics have a
brain and can think. I mean, imagine that I told you a couple of bicycle mechanics
was working on a machine that would make us fly...the academic world would
laugh and say that you need an engineering degree to understand flight...
There are
many examples where non academic ideas have been lost because the academic
establishment and people within those establishments do not like anyone
breaking into their realm of academia. There are many No Nos (Our Iceberg
is Melting) in this world that cannot stand their super ego
being challenged. And sadly, I would say that this is major contributing factor
as to why so many things do not work well in our society and in our workplaces.
We don’t listen and take into consideration the ideas from people who also have
good ideas and workable concepts very often. These non academics try and put in
an idea and they are quickly reminded about all the other academic books and
studies done to prove you must be wrong. I have had Kahneman tell me in a
private email "it’s almost impossible to break into the
academic world from the outside" there
it was in black and white form a person who knows.
Having a title does not give anyone the right to
discredit anyone. In fact I would say it is unhealthy as is driven by ills
intentions. There are many clever people out there in this world with good
ideas and concepts with little to know formal education, it’s just a dam shame
many people prefer self serving protection than being open and accepting.
And there is one other thing that I feel is a great
injustice; this is when the academic uses the idea the non academic came up
with and spin it into their own idea that you guessed it, is then used.
