When to stop trusting experts

I grew up with parents who put great faith and trust in experts of all kinds. Expert was another name for authority. Whether it was science, doctors, the church or any other of all types of authority, if they said it, it must be right. I remember my father voting his stock proxies and when asked why he didn't vote against some proposed board members or proposals, he was genuinely taken aback and told me he always voted with management because they knew what needed to be done.

Then came my teen and college years and they were full of the rebellion of war protests over Viet Nam and hippies and all the anti-establishment actions you could imagine. My coming of age. Yet I wanted to believe in the benevolence of the authorities out there as well. I went back and forth trying to make sense of it all. It never did sort out exactly.

Today I believe most people, most of the time are good and want to do the right thing. By "right" I mean right for most people, not just themselves. And I believe that bad systems can, over time, corrupt good people. George Bernard Shaw said "Custom will reconcile people to any atrocity." At the same time, I believe that what is considered good, can, with more time and information, turn out out to be bad. Good intentions have unintended consequences. A case in point in today's New York Times:

How Chemicals Affect Us

Scientists warn that chemicals we’re exposed to every day can cause genital deformities and even breast cancer. Is our government paying attention?

I don't believe for a minute that the chemical industry set out to create dangerous things that would cause health problems. I do believe that nothing should be assumed and over time, careful, honest investigators should learn more about such creations. If what they learn is negative, they have an obligation to share that information widely and unambiguously. I also believe the people have to pay attention to what they do because there is so much information out there (reliable and unreliable) it is overwhelming and critical thinking skills often seem in short supply. Yet, having people whose job it is to pay attention (regulators) makes sense to me, as long as they remain honest and committed to the welfare of the whole as opposed to the interests of a few - whoever those few are.