The idea behind a liberal education isn't to get students to believe that they can understand a topic because they "went over the fundamentals for a few weeks i

The idea behind a liberal education isn't to get students to believe that they can understand a topic because they "went over the fundamentals for a few weeks in college". It's to get them to be able to rationally discuss the topic with someone who is an expert. My wife tells a story about a business class she took in undergrad. It was about markets and investing for non-business majors. The professor started out very clearly by explaining that the class was not going to make them financial geniuses - that it would not make them all millionaires. But, that it would help them make better decision so they could understand what the recommendations of their financial planners. In undergrad, I took a course on the "international political economy" (on of my favorites too - Thanks Dr. Katz). Now, I don't think that means I'd be equipped to negotiate a treaty, but it does help me follow international events with a bit more context. Do you think we should get rid of Wikipedia, so people don't spend a few hours reading about topics, lest they start to think they are experts?