Maybe that would be a good thing. Most people don't know jack about economics, physics, finance, engineering, artificial intelligence, the future, technology or pretty much anything outside of their day to day job.
You'll notice that whenever someone like that does open their mouth in your field without knowing jack about it - you immediately understand that he has no idea what he is talking about.
The real problem comes when he's talking about an industry you don't know - because for all intents and purposes you won't know either.
> You can bullshit all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot bullshit all the people all the time.
This is how MBAs (or Master Bullshit Artists) can exist. If you don't know much about tech, he can say pretty much whatever he wants and you will have no idea as to whether he is telling the truth unless you yourself have knowledge of the relevant area.
> Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know.
-- Tao Te Ching
Remember that the next time you are listening to a discussion of a complex field - where none of the participants have degrees, industry experience or in depth on the ground knowledge of said fields. Bullshit is everywhere.
I have my own philosophy for information processing. After thinking about it, it boils down to these 5 steps.
1. Consume liberally.
2. Process rigorously.
3. Store cautiously.
4. Modify frequently.
5. Express freely.
Step 5 feeds back into Step 1, and is the step that puts me at odds with Buffett's statement. I think it is an important one though, even if the expressed ideas are incorrect or incomplete, because it keeps the information cycle flowing. Bullshit of some form will always exist until everyone is an omniscient deity and all truth in the Universe is known.
To me, the much more worrisome issue is the lack of emphasis on Steps 2, 3, 4: asking questions, questioning answers, answering questions. Encouraging people to try Steps 2, 3, and 4 is a more widely beneficial solution than telling them to just avoid Step 5 unless they are God.
"Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know."
...
Remember that the next time you are listening to a discussion of complex field - where none of the participants have degrees, industry experience or in depth on the ground knowledge of said fields.
If those who know do not speak, how could we ever listen to any other type of discussion?
It's a heuristic not a law. Use it to protect yourself from the adverse selection of stated data in complex fields from highly incentivised agents (including me).
I get it. And like most cute little sayings designed to make the speaker sound like they're dispensing sage advice, it's almost worthless as a heuristic. It tells you virtually nothing about the credibility of the person speaking, or the strength of their position.
However, I do not agree with Mr. Buffett's statement - if it were the case, no one would ever make a single statement.