There is a common understanding that when asking for knowledge of the unknown, most of us listen and accept the facts presented to us. But sometimes the information can be misleading or outdated. What is one to do then? Dr. John Murphy, assistant professor of economics at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, spoke with the University of Wisconsin-Superior students on March 4 about Expert Failure. With anything in life, as an expert’s opinion gets transmitted, there is some chance it gets distorted.
Murphy’s speech was based on his research paper that won an award this past September for the best research paper in the Journal of Institutional Economics. “One of the things that I point out is in order to get experts to reveal more information, be less likely to fail, you need to be able to challenge them, question them. Don’t need to be aggressive in it in any way, but just hey, can you explain that point, or hey, I don’t really understand what you’re saying, so and so forth. So, the big lesson I would suggest for college students is to question your professors. Not only does it engage the student more in the material, but it forces your professor to do their job and to explain things in a way that you can understand them,” said Murphy.
Sujha Kafati, the Stimulus Club vice president, also attended the event and shared that after hearing the presentation, she feels more confident in asking questions. Kafati said, “I think most of it was recognizing when it happened and acknowledging or learning that I can just like reach out to them and have a conversation and ask my professors whenever I feel like I haven’t learned enough about something or if I have like further doubts about certain things.”
Although the Stimulus Club sponsored the Economic Speakers event, all UWS students were welcome to attend. One does not have to be in the Economics program to learn more about how economics is involved in every aspect of life. As Murphy said, “Experts fail in their advice, not because of greed or a desire for fraud, but because of the institutional incentives they face.”
To find out more about ‘Expert Failure’, visit the UWS-Economics Facebook page and watch the recording at https://www.facebook.com/share/1BDcStrNUg/. Additionally, please do not hesitate to contact Murphy at jonathan.murphy@nicholls.edu if you have any further questions.
