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IntegralAnswers

@IntegralAnswers

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An integrally-informed and pathologically curious healthcare professional. Combatting disinfo in public health sphere. Passionate amateur photographer.

Joined August 2011
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@IntegralAnswers
IntegralAnswers
4 days
🎯 THREAD: Dr. Peter Hotez vs. Hookworm. Before COVID-19, Dr. Peter Hotez spent decades fighting a different global killer: hookworm. This thread explores how he pioneered a vaccine against a parasite of poverty—while building a new model for humanitarian science. 🧵👇
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@IntegralAnswers
IntegralAnswers
5 hours
Well thought out thread. Please read and follow @RageSheen.
@RageSheen
Henry Madison
16 days
Robert Putnam’s ‘The Upswing’ traces the cycling between “I” and “We” in American life over the past century. You can see here how the 4 great catastrophic disruptions of the first half of the 20th century drove the emergence of a collective focus. Of a ‘we’. /1
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@IntegralAnswers
IntegralAnswers
5 hours
15/ References.For a deeper dive into the themes of Nichols’ book and how anti-expertise became a political weapon, I recommend:.📘 The Death of Expertise (Tom Nichols).🎙️ .📚 Or follow this thread and join the conversation.
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14/ Endnote/Call to Action.The death of expertise isn’t just a cultural curiosity. It’s a vulnerability. If truth is negotiable, power wins. If no one can be trusted, only the loudest survive. It’s time to rebuild public trust—not just in facts, but in how we come to know them.
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13/ Nichols Was Right. But It’s Worse Now. Nichols saw the tide turning. But now, anti-expert sentiment isn’t just a nuisance—it’s a tool of authoritarian movements, a driver of public health disasters, and a threat to democratic institutions.
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12/ So What Now?. If we want to reverse this trend, it’s not enough to “trust the experts.”. Experts must:.• Communicate clearly.• Admit uncertainty honestly.• Build public trust through transparency.• Engage—not lecture—the public.
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11/ The New Gatekeepers Are Broken.In 2017, Nichols worried that expertise was no longer respected. In 2025, the gatekeepers are gone. Anyone with a phone can post a lie to millions—and many will believe it if it confirms their priors.
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10/ From Disinformation to Power.When Nichols warned of epistemic collapse, he may not have foreseen it being used as a ladder to power. If no one trusts experts, you can say anything. If everything’s propaganda, only loyalty matters. Truth becomes negotiable.
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9/ Academia and Media Complicit?.In some ways, universities and media haven’t helped:. • Sensationalism over depth.• False balance (“both sides” science).• Intellectual elitism that alienates rather than educates. This created more resentment—fertile ground for populists.
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8/ Anti-Expertise Became an Identity.Rejecting science or credentials is now a badge of honor in some circles. It’s not “I don’t believe the CDC,” it’s “Only sheep believe the CDC.”. It’s identity, tribe, and loyalty—not reason—that drives rejection of experts.
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7/ The Algorithm Knows.Social media algorithms didn’t just amplify dissent—they monetized it. Content that provokes outrage or conspiracy spreads faster than nuance or expertise. The platforms profit when facts become controversial.
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6/ The Weaponization of Doubt.From Trump to RFK Jr., populist leaders have embraced anti-expert narratives to discredit institutions:. • “Fauci lied”.• “Scientists are corrupt”.• “Doctors are in Big Pharma’s pocket”. Destroy trust in expertise → fill the void with ideology.
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5/ What He Missed or Understated.Where Nichols may have pulled his punches:. He saw the cultural mood, but didn’t fully predict how political actors would weaponize anti-expert sentiment to build power. This wasn’t just cultural drift. It became a strategy.
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IntegralAnswers
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4/ COVID as a Case Study.During the pandemic, public health experts were demonized. virologists & epidemiologists became targets of smear campaigns. Meanwhile, wellness influencers, podcast hosts, & discredited doctors became folk heroes. Nichols saw it coming. And it got ugly.
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3/ What He Got Right.He predicted:.• The rise of anti-science populism.• Social media empowering cranks.• Education failing to teach critical thinking.• People doing “their own research” into madness. That was before COVID, before TikTok doctors, before Substack pseudoscience.
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IntegralAnswers
6 hours
His Thesis.Nichols argued that Americans were increasingly hostile to experts—not just skeptical, but resentful. They didn’t want to hear from experts anymore. Social media, bad education, & cultural narcissism were making everyone believe they were just as smart as specialists.
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In 2017, Tom Nichols wrote The Death of Expertise warning of a world where people reject expert knowledge in favor of their own opinions. Eight years later, his warning looks not only prescient—but possibly understated. Let’s talk about what he got right—& what got even worse.
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IntegralAnswers
8 hours
12/ Science has tools to evaluate any claim. If homeopathy works, it must meet the same standards as everything else. Until then, belief ≠ evidence. @IntegralAnswers./🧵end.
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IntegralAnswers
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11/ Let’s not confuse delivery with efficacy. Sometimes what feels good isn’t what works.
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IntegralAnswers
8 hours
10/ One weak link ruins trust:.Bad studies often have:.❌ Small sample sizes.❌ No control groups.❌ Poor blinding. Here’s a side-by-side:
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IntegralAnswers
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9/ So what’s the process?. Here’s how science takes a claim and decides if it’s ready for clinical practice:
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