The Priesthoods: Power, Corruption, and the Future of Expertise

2025-01-09

This essay explores the dynamics of 'priesthoods'—expert communities like the medical establishment—and the challenges they face. The author argues that these groups, in their pursuit of intellectual authority, often isolate themselves from the public, creating an internal knowledge bubble. While this isolation fosters in-depth discussion and consensus-building, it can also breed internal biases and vulnerability to political or other influences. Using examples from medicine and architecture, the article analyzes how these groups function, their susceptibility to capitalist pressures, and their recent susceptibility to capture by political ideologies. The author ultimately questions how to respond to the declining credibility of these expert communities: should we attempt to fix the existing system, or explore alternative models of knowledge dissemination?

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H5N1 Avian Flu: A Deep Dive into the Pandemic Threat

2025-01-01

This article delves into the potential pandemic threat posed by the H5N1 avian flu virus. The virus has already infected birds, cows, and mink, and has now been detected in pigs. While human cases remain relatively low, the author, drawing on epidemiological models and expert forecasts, assesses the probability of a pandemic in the next year (5%), and the potential mortality rate (ranging from comparable to a normal seasonal flu to resembling the 1918 Spanish flu). The article also discusses strategies for responding to a potential pandemic and highlights the economic impact on agriculture.

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