Can We Trust Specialists?

我们可以相信特种经纪人吗？

Why should we call some people specialists? Because they have accumulated a system of expertise in their domain after years of research and practices and been acknowledged by their peers and the public. Those real specialists are able to provide the pubic with accurate information and solve many problems. Of course, as to err is human, real specialists can not avoid making mistakes in their lives. But so long as they maintain an honest and scientific attitude toward their opinions, the public can still forgive them even if they make wrong judgments.

However, in recent years, the public have an increasing suspicion of specialists’ opinions. Some specialists frequently appear in TV advertisements to endorse on certain products. These experts seem to lose the public’s trust, for they are suspected to unfavorably direct the public and provide wrong information. In my opinion, specialists’ opinions can only be trusted so long as they are honest.

Firstly, only honest specialists can provide objective and accurate judgments for the public. Nowadays, specialists are frequently consulted with by big companies and hence they are likely to provide opinions in favor of those companies. This can be best illustrated in medicine advertisements in the media. Pharmaceutical companies tend to invite specialists with white hairs and various titles to provide their comments on their products. Without exception, those specialists highlight the advantages of new medicines, and then would recommend them to the public. But one can not help thinking why these experts are willing to appear in the media and endorse on the new medicine. All the rational people can figure out that those specialists have been bribed by pharmaceutical companies and hence their comments and recommendations are in the interest of those companies. While the honesty has been corrupted by money, should we still trust them?

Secondly, the media has produced a lot of fake specialists. Wrapped by an aura of trustable titles, these fake experts would speak in an authoritarian tone to the public and provide claimed accurate information. The truth is that realist specialists are banned by intellectual integrity and regulations of their institutions to endorse on certain products in any advertisements. I am of opinion that real experts are reluctant to appear in the media, for real specialists should absorb themselves in their research and do not want to be disturbed by the media. Consequently, we can reason that the more impressive the introductions of specialist are, the more likely they are fake specialists.

On all accounts, so long as specialists are not employed by companies to provide information to the public, and they are not fake, their opinions are trustable, for real specialists are honest and provide objective opinions. Otherwise, we should be cautious about their claimed authoritarian opinions.