Well yes, of course. What I object to is equating "able to think critically and independently" with "has years of domain expertise in academic liberal-arts and

Well yes, of course. What I object to is equating "able to think critically and independently" with "has years of domain expertise in academic liberal-arts and humanities fields." The whole point of talking about "critical" or "independent" thinking is that they're supposed to be domain-general cognitive skills.