You don't know. And you never will. Even well credentialed experts aren't strictly trustworthy, because they can often be wrong or have big gaps in knowledge.

You don't know. And you never will. Even well credentialed experts aren't strictly trustworthy, because they can often be wrong or have big gaps in knowledge. Credentials can be faked or bullshitted into. Even honest experts can fall into self corrupting games that force them to spread bad information to maintain their position in their field. As individuals, we're going to constantly mess up and follow the wrong ideas. The best we can do is hold lightly to them and be willing to be proven wrong and always be weighing the risks of an idea being wrong. Always ask what the incentives of a person sharing an idea are. Profit incentives distort rational thinking. We all worship the thing that feeds us. It's important in some cases to take leaps of faith so that you don't become paralyzed to inaction from the vast uncertainty of the world. Just be wary that you don't get stuck on a sinking island or take overly absurd leaps that don't have the reward to justify the risk. Hopefully, the human colossus is marching closer to truth, even if we as individuals can never achieve it.