Prompt: #22. What role do experts play in influencing our consumption or acquisition of knowledge? o Line of argument from prompt and argument that is going to be pursued: Experts have always had a role in shaping what we consider to be knowledge, belief, or opinion – in both modern and more traditional or conservative societies. Even though the definition of who an “expert” is could differ, experts are able to gain people’s trust and acceptance – to an extent at least. But are all our beliefs and knowledge originated from what experts claim to be true or false? Do our brains really get convinced by experts’ opinions and claims or do they only accept them to be true because of the source they come from? Is it experts who define universal truths? What if we lived in a world where experts weren’t trusted or relied on, and everybody followed what they found to be right and sensible? o Areas of Knowledge and Ways of Knowing that will be incorporated: AoKs: natural sciences, history, religious knowledge systems, indigenous knowledge systems. WoKs: language, memory, emotion, reason, faith, intuition. o Object 1: Coke Zero Sugar. There seems to be nothing harmful according to the official Coke Zero nutrition facts label. Many people believe that, but, does that make sense – given that this tastes almost the same as the original 140 kcal/355 mL coke? Is that even possible or else why does the original very-much-unhealthier coke even exist? Even though supposedly healthier alternatives to fizzy drinks – such as Coke Zero – are meant to be harmless (or less impactful, at least), science has proven otherwise. [all my research on Coca Cola Zero Sugar is based off the Coca Cola US website] Prompt: #22. What role do experts play in influencing our consumption or acquisition of knowledge? An Expert can be defined as a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area. Usually, experts in a certain field are highly valued and easily believed because of how much they know about that area compared to others who do not know much but still need a solution or a conclusion to a particular issue that concerns them. Therefore, opinions with reasonable and logical explanations by experts are believed to be true; and when a number of experts collectively have similar opinions, facts are established – thus knowledge is created. More often than not, the knowledge created – and especially after being proved (and sometimes even when it is disproved, if that happens) – becomes something that many societies believe in, especially when it is related to natural sciences due to the high accuracy and concrete procedure of the scientific method. Consequently, it could potentially become a universal truth across certain societies or the world unless it contradicted with a group’s ideas, beliefs, or what they believe to be knowledge or truth otherwise. In my object’s case, Coke Zero Sugar, the person or organization who wrote the nutrition facts label for Coke Zero is clearly an expert. What first pops in a typical consumer’s mind is that Coca Cola is a huge multinational corporation with a globally known brand, and there is no way that the information they are presenting to billions of people around the world is false – so they believe that Coke Zero is just like flavoured water which doesn’t harm the body at all. After doing more research, I found this in the US Food & Drug Administration website: This suggests that – at least in the USA – Coke Zero’s nutrition facts label is absolutely true. Prompt: #22. What role do experts play in influencing our consumption or acquisition of knowledge? Then, I decided to search more about the ingredients of Coke Zero and this is what I found in the official Coca Cola website: It also states, under the nutrition label: I realized eventually that the nutrition facts label only tells certain things about Coke Zero – hence about any other food. This creates bias because companies may only mention what they think would appeal to the consumers to make as many sales as possible. Therefore, I took a step forward and decided to do some research on the ingredients and whether they could have any health effects that wouldn’t be expected by a typical consumer who’s appealed by the “Zero Sugar” phrase or the Amount Per Serving of 0 Calories. A Healthline evidence-based Nutrition article titled “Is Coke Zero Bad for You?” explains that the health effects of artificial sweeteners – including those used in Coke Zero (as an alternative to sugar, to give it its sweet taste) – are controversial, and concern regarding their safety is growing. Even though the research is inconsistent, some studies find that the use of artificial sweeteners may contribute to the development of obesity and metabolic syndrome, which could increase disease risk. Studies have also shown that artificial sweeteners could increase the risk of heart disease, kidney disease, osteoporosis, and the alteration of gut microbiome. However, other studies have found opposing results. For example, A 14-year study in 1,685 middle-aged adults did not find any association between diet soda intake and an increased risk of prediabetes. Prompt: #22. What role do experts play in influencing our consumption or acquisition of knowledge? Even though more studies suggest that artificial sweeteners are harmful than okay, this isn’t what many people believe in general. Although it might be sensible from the beginning that there could be other side effects to Coke Zero, isn’t it supposed to not lead to any slight increase in weight due to it have 0 grams of sugar and 0 calories? And shouldn’t this be clarified by the Coca Cola company? Technically speaking, the nutrition facts label does not say anything about Coke Zero not increasing weight or not potentially causing diseases in the long term, and the ingredients can be found if looked up for. However, is it ethical to be this unclear, concealing, and misleading (to the normal person, at least)? Furthermore, is it ethical to not write down the fact that the product contains artificial sweeteners in the nutrition facts label – despite what the law or the FDA requires? We can conclude that, like the case with Coke Zero, many other scientific “facts”, or expectations at least, could be controversial. Even with the massive trust and funding that experts receive, mistakes are possible (and huge, unexpected ones, sometimes). We also realise that experts might try to “hide” some information that are against their conclusions. Or, if not hide, they could present the information in a misleading way, and one way is by only mentioning what’s in their benefit. We understand that experts are not always transparent and that their work could be biased by several factors, which leads to not-completely-true knowledge to be formed – hence harming the users.
