@casheroo – “Anyone can go to med school, and become a surgeon” I beg to differ. I honestly don’t think everyone can bust their ass studying medicine day in, day out on material that doesn’t interest them. Just like, I could never be a history major or be a part of countless other professions. On a more practical note, not everyone could survive a surgeon’s lifestyle.
As for the title Q, I do normally trust experts. Trusting someone doesn’t mean I turn off my brain and don’t think about if what they are saying even makes sense to me. It means I trust their experience and hard work in their field. If it makes sense, great! If not, I politely ask Qs phrased like “I am sorry. I am being kind of dense here, but I don’t get how you arrive at that solution. Can you explain it to me a little more in depth?” Because let’s face it, chances are I really am just being dense and I just didn’t understand what they said; or they just have poor communication skills (which doesn’t make them NOT an expert). If after further explanation, I am not convinced, sure I’ll ask other experts in the same field.
As a pre-med student, I know how much work goes into being a physician, it’s not an easy path and it has pretty strong weed out processes in place. This applies to many other professions too. Does this mean that all doctors are good doctors or are right all the time? No. And I would be an idiot to think that they are since they are still human, and yes, humans make mistakes. This applies to every profession. There’s always chance of error. What makes them an expert is not 100% accuracy, it is having a much higher chance of accuracy than the average person.
<rant>Also, people who think that they can’t trust anyone amuse me frankly. Because these people typically believe that all others are idiots, except for themselves, precious little creatures who might not have the necessary experience in the subject, but who are never wrong because they just have that remarkable intuition. You can think for yourself, and still trust an expert. Learn from the expert, and then make an informed decision.</rant>