Neo-neocon asks a good question

[I]s being an expert like being "President for life?" That is, once you are anointed, appointed, elected, whatever, to "expert" status, is there nothing that can impeach you? Like, maybe, being wrong; like maybe, over and over and over again?

I have noticed that a bad track record on analyzing or predicting events is brushed over and ignored, and that experts keep on prognosticating and experticizing (yes, I know it's not a word, but I think it should be). They are rarely, if ever, called on it.[]

It reminds me of a related question I've often wondered about: does anyone check up on psychics? How many of their yearly predictions actually come true--the ones that aren't totally vague, that is?

I've often wondered, if these people can predict the future so well, why they are not fabulously wealthy from shrewd investment in the stock market.
That would be a much more valuable use of their time than predicting (wrongly, as it happens) that a million Afghans would be killed if we attacked the Taliban.


Read the post; the comments are good, too.