The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters by Tom Nichols

Abstract

Tom Nichols' latest book is one "must read" book for all walks of life, young and old, as the author lays out the case for why we are turning away from the experts and professionals in our lives (personal, work-related, even up to the highest levels of our governments) and the information they provide us, by living completely in our isolated "information silos." While this phenomenon is not new, the advent of the Internet has made it easier than ever for every person with access to become their own "expert" in all things, thanks to the ease with which we can all "Google" it. Nichols' book details this 'campaign against knowledge' and the areas of our lives where it can be most felt, from the halls of the academy to our own homes, day in and day out. He also wisely shares his own expertise  and failures to point out the slippery slope we are sliding down if we do not stop and reverse the trend of thinking we know everything, because we can look it up in a few seconds, to the trend as it used to be: when we listened, with our full attention, to the very experts that we are no longer listening to. Wise words, with a historical and modern twist, make this book critical to understanding the information landscape as it is today, and where it will take us if we continue as we are now.