I also similarly distrust much-beloved "public intellectuals," (an oxymoron if I've ever heard one) like Malcolm Gladwell and Steven Pinker, along with a raft of lesser-known aspirants to that role. I've heard it said often that Elon Musk sounds brilliant unless he's talking about something you know something about, and though I know nothing about computer programming and can't judge him there, I know what people mean when they say that, because that's what I think of when I think of Gladwell, Pinker, and Mounk.

(A further disclaimer, re: Mounk—he personally attacked a friend of mine, in what I thought was a pretty dishonest and I think pretty disgraceful way, but I can't get into the details of that, beyond the fact that it's had an effect on my feelings about him.)

So, take me with a grain of salt too!