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Philosophy

The Epistemology of Expertise and the Problem of Novice Judgment

Quick fact

Philosopher Alvin Goldman argued that novices can rationally trust experts by relying on 'meta-expertise'—evaluating the expert's track record, consensus among experts, and the expert's incentives—rather than directly checking the claims themselves.

Why this is interesting

You may never have taken a single physics class, yet you believe that electrons exist, the Earth orbits the Sun, and vaccines are safe. How can you rationally believe these things without being an expert?