Expertise is not binary. Experts often have false beliefs within their areas of expertise. And it takes expertise to determine if another person is in fact an expert.

Trespassing implies a “title” to knowledge, a right to the exclusive dominion and control. Thinking of knowledge as a titled asset, like real property, implies there is only one way to gain knowledge, via some chain of custody. This is the same logic behind the gate keeping and credentialism that is responsible for so much economic injustice. And the epistemic errors are similar. It’s a shortcut, sure, but to where?

Telling people to only listen to the “real experts”, is not good advice. It’s much better to promote rigor, logic, skepticism and parsimony as a reliable path to knowledge.