There are a few good non celebrities we should be listening to. Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson's, etc. Highly educated, high signal to noise, experts in their fields and not fking celebrities (at least not originally).
I have nothing to gain by listening to a performers opinion about anything outside of what they perform in. I don't think these are smart people.
He has a PhD in Neuroscience, but he's become so disconnected from the field I'd say it's ridiculous to think he's an expert in it. Even if this expertise is granted, Harris spends so little time in his life talking about Neuro it's of little relevance.
In this noisy world that we find ourselves in today, one MUST cultivate critical thinking skills.
I don't trust phds because they "sound smart". Indeed, true smartness lies in simplifying complex concepts without much loss of information. I know the types of faux intellects you are referring to. Beware of them.
I trust phds more because my prior on their ability to use critical thinking is much higher than a Hollywood dimwit who is paid to express emotions in people.
It is still your job to trust, but verify. It is just easier to verify logically sound arguments or insights.
If someone is talking about a personal experience, why can't that be valuable to see another perspective?
You can get Zimbardo talking about how Evil people aren't always evil, but sometimes evil due to their environment, and then you can see that reflected in art like Atlanta where characters are robbing their friends because they need resources to survive. Then you can hear a song by The Animals that shows the narrative across eras and ethnicity.
Is this an "art isn't valuable" sort of option or "artists I don't like make art I don't like" sort of thing?
Okay, Got it. If you can't see why art is useful, I'm not going to try and waste time debating you. Good luck fighting the capitalists.
Not sure why you thought I am sitting here waiting to "debate" you. This is just my opinion. Please don't take an abstract opinion so personally.
Doesn't are reality then get warped by whatever people have the biggest megaphone for their personal experiences?
What about conflicting statistics? How do you decide which is better? Answer: a deeply complex personal series of metrics, built on your opinion of logic.
There's no perfect choice tree for a person. You're always affected by emotion. You can try and pretend that doesn't exist, or you could use it, but you can't eliminate it.