DYSPEPSIA GENERATION

We have too many people who are credentialed rather than educated, and too many people who think their education creates an automatic entitlement. The problem isn’t with “merit” rising to the top, the problem is that we have a false and destructive idea of what constitutes merit.
– Glenn Reynolds

One of the most amusing accusations against Spencer Pratt was that he had no experience in government, no training in government, and no credentials in government. What made it risible was the patently poor performance those with experience, education, and credentials have displayed in governing Los Angeles. A Spence Pratt could almost certainly do no worse than they have done.

Throughout my life, it has been my experience that ability is only rarely indicated by the credentials an individual holds. An MFA does not guarantee the holder will write a book worth reading. Yet oddly, Andy Weir, with no credentials in writing, can turn out books like The Martian and Larry Correia can turn out best-seller after best-seller despite the handicap of lacking the relevant degree.

Perhaps closer to home, compare the academic performance of homeschooled children taught by those with no academic credentials to those attending public schools taught by only highly credentialed educators. The median performance of the home-schooled far outpaces the median performance of those going through public schools.

Yet credentialism has one strength. It removes the pressure on decision-makers to exercise judgment in choosing people. No one ever gets fired for choosing the best-credentialed choice, however incompetent or unmotivated the person holding those credentials may be. “Well, he had all the right credentials,” excuses failure.