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Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
So what? Sounds like you're saying we shouldn't have public intellectuals at all - everyone should stay in their narrow academic lanes of expertise.
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It is fine for academics to stray from their swim lanes, if they acknowledge the taxonomy of their expertise and acknowledge their lack of expertise as they move higher in the order. You can develop a broad understanding of subjects so long as you come completely out of your lane and gain understanding from the experiences of living, studying, or working in the other. This is where so many academics fail. I am coaching an individual on how to develop a more broad expertise in dealing with matters at an institution wide perspective, and I always tell this person to take a step back.
When they first hear a problem, they apply their understanding based on their particular lens and expertise. I tell them to take a step back, and look at from another perspective. Work up the layers of the taxonomy to better understand issues from the broader perspective. Apply the experiences and understanding of others from those other lanes and be prepared to look at issues as their environment affects them and their perceptions. Remind yourself that you're in their world and need to understand what affects them based on the rules they have to live by. This is where academics, and those who claim to be intellectuals, tend to fail and fail hard. They know their swim lane exceptionally well, to the point where they believe all swim lanes are the same and behave in the same manner as their own, and this is their downfall. Peterson is no different.