Faced with a choice between an expert (who may be a poor communicator, but knows his subject) and a commentator (who may be an excellent communicator, with little knowledge of the subject), always, *always* choose the expert. /thread

Yes, experts are wrong, sometimes; but they are statistically far more likely to be right, and certainly more likely to be right than an unqualified rentagob.

The reason so many people side with pundits over professionals is that professionals deal in cold, boring facts, >

while pundits deal in *stories* - and humans, particularly less educated humans, prefer stories to facts.

But stories are just that – interpretations. Fabrications. Make-believe. The conspiracy theories that gain the most traction are not those based on the soundest evidence, >

but the ones that tell the best stories. These are fairy tales of good versus evil, of valiant heroes and all-powerful supervillains and decent everyday folk who just want to get on with their simple existences growing turnips and cobbling shoes. >

The story – bordering on conspiracy theory itself – that Darren Crimes and Arron Banks and other populist mouthpieces are trying to weave is one of a nebulous elite – a coalition of Remain voters, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green and SNP MPs, judges, teachers, academics, >

unsupportive media outlets – trying to suppress free expression and thwart the “will of the people” (“people”, here, signifying some ill-defined subsection of society that, depending on the issue at hand, may include any or all of northern people, working-class people, >

white people, older people, Brexit voters, people who haven’t been to university).

These chattering classes, with their bookshelves and wine cellars and skiing holidays in Juan-les-Pins, so “out of touch” with the concerns of the common people and their common sense >

that they – gasp! – take public transport, will not rest until the hoi polloi are silenced for ever and condemned to a life of serfdom and not being able to buy Easter eggs with "Easter" on the box.

But never fear! Sir Grimes of Tufton is here to liberate you >

from your tofu-chewing overlords!

And because it is a simple story, because the downtrodden are shown a clear (but false) picture of who is treading them down, the downtrodden believe it. It offers them a solution. It offers them hope. >

Never mind that many of the details are fabricated and that many others make no sense. This fairy tale gives them heroes and villains and hope.

Experts don’t care about hope. There are no heroes or villains in a science or economic textbook. >

Stories are for children. Facts are for grown-ups. Stop watching Jackanory and turn on the news. +