[Bradley_A_Pliam]

I've been a part of a subculture that lied to me, something not related to physics or STEM, but after years of drinking the koolaid I finally learned the emptiness of what the community of 'experts' were saying and what so many followers were swallowing whole. This experience damaged my ability to just believe experts. It has affected me in such a way that I don't just give people a license to do handwaving indefinitely. I've come to realize that my intuition could've freed me earlier on from the falsehood that an entire population was swallowing. This time around, I went with my gut. This time I want to know if there is coercion at play (calling people "crackpots" and shaming) or if there is evidence that needs to be laid out.

[richardfey]

There's definitely need of more scientists and not of more experts. Experts means "with experience", which might be of greater quantity or quality than average, but that doesn't cut it. Experts is also where charlatans and quacks abund, because we don't usually keep their opinions and work against the same bar as we do with scientists and scientific publications.