One problem is I need to be an expert to decipher what the experts are saying (and who is an expert, and which experts to listen to).
So instead I rely on various secondary and tertiary sources to help me make sense of the world, which opens up the possibility that my sources are wrong or even manipulative. But how would I ever know? I'm not an expert.
> One problem is I need to be an expert to decipher what the experts are saying (and who is an expert, and which experts to listen to).
No you don't? Probably most countries have health ministries which lead the fight against the pandemic, usually via some proxy ( like head epidemiologist, or a person appointed specifically for that task). The guidance they and the WHO gave is the expert guidance, and at least the latter was given in a very digestible format for the general public.
WHO and CDC guidance were murky early on (made even less clear by people actively trying to confuse people). Consider the confusion about whether asymptomatic spread is possible (WHO not effectively communicating the difference between "truly asymptomatic " and presymptomatic), or confusion over whether to use masks (getting translated into "masks don't work" by the game-of-telephone that is social media).
Or consider the controversies over drugs used to fight COVID-19. People advocating their use were physicians -- that makes them experts relative to me. Then other physicians said no, they don't work and are dangerous. They are also experts. Who am I to believe?
This problem goes beyond the pandemic. Doctors of medicine use jargon derived from Greek and Latin both for historic reasons and with the purpose of creating an air of authority. But when someone comes along and usurps that language, it sounds to an uneducated ear like the real thing. That's how we end up with people drinking special water to alter blood pH to prevent cancer. Absurd? Maybe. But if you have letters after your name and I don't, how can I know?
So instead I rely on various secondary and tertiary sources to help me make sense of the world, which opens up the possibility that my sources are wrong or even manipulative. But how would I ever know? I'm not an expert.