You aren't even comprehending it. Even if every single claim I listed is completely wrong, the social phenomenon I am describing exists and must be understood if culture is to become more rational.

I've tried to point out the perception-of-expertise problem before in threads like this, and skeptics always get angry and defensive and dismissive.

MSG is fine. GMOs are fine. There is no housing bubble. That's what the experts say.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10...

How many people do you know whose financial well-being was destroyed by the housing bubble?

Bernanke graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University, among other accolades. You don't get more credentialed expertise than that. What conclusion are people supposed to draw here?

I'm simply pointing out the obvious one, and the one that many people do in fact draw: expertise is bullshit. I don't personally believe that -- I think the reality is far more nuanced -- but I can see how someone could draw that conclusion and I am not convinced that doing so makes them an idiot.