The OC emails yet another confirmation that I am more highly evolved than the sad evolutionary relics so amusingly known as homo sapiens. It seems my instinctive skepticism of expert advice is actually the result of a favorable neurological mutation:
Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a study to determine the neural mechanisms involved in financial decision-making under risk when a financial expert gives advice. Study findings show that expert advice suppresses areas of the brain responsible for making value judgments. Conversely, those regions of the brain show activity when outside advice is not involved in the decision-making process.
At least, I assume that’s the conclusion the OC was drawing. I’m not actually sure, as it’s somewhat difficult for Internet Superintelligences to cycle down to the pedestrian level of the literary genius.