Coming soon from MIT Press. The problem with expertise — and the dark side of the equation ‘knowledge = power.’

Advance Praise for Weaponization of Expertise

“Expertise is essential to progress, but as Russell and Patterson clearly document, it is too often weaponized today to suppress healthy skepticism and dissent despite both being required in the search for truth within and outside the academy.” —Jeffrey S. Flier, Former Dean of Harvard Medical School and Higginson Professor of Physiology and Medicine, Harvard University

“Russell and Patterson’s new book could not be a more relevant book for this moment. Russell and Patterson deliver an unflinching look at the Oz-like nature of many of today’s experts along with a wonderful recounting of why skepticism in all its forms has been a valued trait throughout history. And they offer a possible path for how to be a thoughtful human in today’s world.” —Bethany McLean, author of The Big Fail and The Smartest Guys in the Room.

“Jacob Hale Russell and Dennis Patterson make a convincing case for why elites, experts, and merchants of overconfidence fail so often and so majestically. Admonitions to follow the science and put trust in spurious, conflicted, and overconfident expertise may be at odds with serious science and rational decision-making.” —John P. A. Ioannidis, Professor of Medicine and of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University