September 17, 2014

A recent NY Times article about foreign money flowing into U.S. think tanks contained the word ‘scholar’ thirteen times.

I started to think: What is a scholar? A deity? How does a scholar differ from an ‘expert’ or a ‘scientist’ (other favorite NYT terms)? Add to that the vast number of ‘unnamed authorities’ and ‘administration officials’ who refuse to speak ‘on the record’ and we have a plethora of opinion influencers, who prefer anonymity, speaking to the great unwashed.

Why be anonymous? Fear of persecution or job loss?  Maybe the NYT does not pay, so why risk being misquoted for no gain? But Andy Warhol once famously said “. . .everyone seeks fifteen minutes of fame,” (or something like that). So why are these guys silent when their moment occurs?

I submit they suffer from atychiphobia – fear of being wrong or of failure. (Try fitting that one into your next cocktail party conversation.) If you never speak on the record, you can never be proved wrong.

These surrogate terms for academic or business experience remind me of a photo taken in the crisis center in Houston during the BP well disaster. It shows the Secretary of Energy and a bastion of ‘experts’ surrounding the poor SOB whose job it is to contain the flow of oil stemming from a failure committed by others. I’m sure he appreciated their credentialed suggestions while the cameras rolled. I shared his controlled anger.

Now, when hearing these vague descriptors, I raise a hoary eyebrow and merely smile.

You are welcome!