7 ms·

> there's a deep strain of anti-expert feeling throughout, at least, the West at the moment. Anti-intellectualism in the US goes back decades (if not centuries

> there's a deep strain of anti-expert feeling throughout, at least, the West at the moment. Anti-intellectualism in the US goes back decades (if not centuries): * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism_in_American_Life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism_in_Americ... The first two US colonies were Jamestown (looking for El Dorado North; gold; riches) and Plymouth (religious society): * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasyland:_How_America_Went_Haywire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasyland:_How_America_Went_... * https://www.kurtandersen.com/fantasyland https://www.kurtandersen.com/fantasyland The magical thinking of those two are the seeds of US society today and all the fruits (good and bad) can probably be linked to the ideas of one of the two.

__egb__ 2y ago
I’m a huge fan of Asimov. Years ago I bought a back issue of the Newsweek that this was originally published in, framed it, and still have it hanging in my office: https://aphelis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ASIMOV_1980_Cult_of_Ignorance.pdf https://aphelis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ASIMOV_1980_C...
- throw0101b 2y ago
  > There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge”. See also book by Tom Nichols (a now-retired professor from U.S. Naval War College): * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Expertise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Expertise
  - DoctorOetker 2y ago
    > “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge” I think a more apt description is the misconception that democracy supposedly means everybody gets their "equal proper timeshare of being considered correct".

__egb__ 2y ago

I’m a huge fan of Asimov. Years ago I bought a back issue of the Newsweek that this was originally published in, framed it, and still have it hanging in my office: https://aphelis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ASIMOV_1980_Cult_of_Ignorance.pdf https://aphelis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ASIMOV_1980_C...

throw0101b 2y ago
> There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge”. See also book by Tom Nichols (a now-retired professor from U.S. Naval War College): * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Expertise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Expertise
- DoctorOetker 2y ago
  > “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge” I think a more apt description is the misconception that democracy supposedly means everybody gets their "equal proper timeshare of being considered correct".