​South Bruce residents need reliable information to vote on DGR, says writer

To the Editor:

What is an expert and who can you trust to help you make sound decisions?

At one time, identifying people with expertise in a subject was much simpler. You would walk into their office and see their degrees and certificates hanging on the wall and would be assured of their knowledge and experience in a given field.

More recently, you can plop someone’s name into the old Google machine and investigate the person’s education and relevant experience. The problem is that many people simply do not take the time to investigate the qualifications of people they see commenting or sharing information on-line. With the plethora of information available at our fingertips, many people APPEAR to be knowledgeable in a subject, but are just regurgitating information they have seen or heard, without having any real authority in that field.

Would you ask your lawyer how to fix your car? Not likely. You’d take your car to your preferred auto mechanic. Would you ask that auto mechanic to diagnose the rash on your daughter’s leg? Also not likely. You’d take your daughter to a doctor or nurse practitioner. Would you ask that doctor or nurse practitioner about estate planning? You get the idea. We have experts for a reason!

The definition of an expert has been debated in South Bruce in light of the upcoming referendum regarding the Deep Geological Repository (DGR). Who can we trust to provide reliable information to help us make a sound decision for our community? Many would consider those individuals who have spent their careers studying geology, nuclear energy, mining, etc., to be the experts in this case.

There are, however, others touted as experts on this topic due to their extensive anti-nuclear activism. The question is this: Is a life-long activist considered an “expert” in the field he/she advocates for or against? And can those opinions be considered unbiased and reliable?

The answer is not simple, because it really depends. What education does the person have? Is it relevant? Remember – having a PhD in one topic does NOT make a person an expert in all topics. What work experience does the person have? Is it relevant? Does the individual have reasons to dislike the field he/she is advocating against? Are those reasons real or perceived? Has the individual done research in the given topic? Has the individual been published and peer-reviewed in any journals? Are those journals reputable?

And perhaps the most important question to consider: Are you trusting that person’s opinion simply because he/she is saying what you want to hear? This is a common phenomenon called confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favour, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values.

If a person is “against” the DGR for used nuclear fuel, he/she is are more likely to read only information that confirms that notion, and is more likely to ignore or disbelieve anything to the contrary.

With such an important decision looming in South Bruce, it is imperative that we, the residents, form our own opinions, and vote accordingly. In doing so, it’s important that we check our biases and look at all the reliable information available from certified experts in the fields that are relevant to the project.

We need to seriously ask ourselves if activism is a form of expertise, and if activists should be telling our community members how to vote.

And if we are considering activists to be experts, perhaps we should be asking animal rights activists for agricultural advice and oversight.

Sheila Whytock
Teeswater