Citing an expert consensus in a field is not credentialism so long as that field is actually relevant and isn't epistemically rancid.
The models are not thinking; that's just mysticism.
The models are not thinking; that's just mysticism.
September 27, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Citing an expert consensus in a field is not credentialism so long as that field is actually relevant and isn't epistemically rancid.
The models are not thinking; that's just mysticism.
The models are not thinking; that's just mysticism.
Also, pointing to his Nobel prize is credentialism.
September 27, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Also, pointing to his Nobel prize is credentialism.
I did college-equivalent courses in middle school via CTY etc. This is a very weird panic I don't think it's raw credentialism as compared to the useless MOOCs everyone was trying to sell.
September 27, 2026 at 5:01 PM
I did college-equivalent courses in middle school via CTY etc. This is a very weird panic I don't think it's raw credentialism as compared to the useless MOOCs everyone was trying to sell.
while there's issues with credentialism in academia, the main thing people with crackpot ideas are really mad about is the fact academics typically adhere to a standard of evidence and the basic rules of logic
September 26, 2026 at 7:31 PM
while there's issues with credentialism in academia, the main thing people with crackpot ideas are really mad about is the fact academics typically adhere to a standard of evidence and the basic rules of logic
I also hate credentialism but it bears noting that a bachelors in cognitve science will get you a barrista job and not much else unless your parents are quite wealthy. That degree is meant to be a stepping-stone for grad school, not your whole damn resume.
September 26, 2026 at 5:55 PM
I also hate credentialism but it bears noting that a bachelors in cognitve science will get you a barrista job and not much else unless your parents are quite wealthy. That degree is meant to be a stepping-stone for grad school, not your whole damn resume.
She's such a dingbat that even the fruitiest of yank fruitcake 'think tanks' won't have her...
A testament to the British class system and Oxbridge credentialism that non-entities like this rise to the top of the power structure like turds.
A testament to the British class system and Oxbridge credentialism that non-entities like this rise to the top of the power structure like turds.
Tory Boy
ALT: Tory Boy
static.klipy.com
September 25, 2026 at 9:00 PM
She's such a dingbat that even the fruitiest of yank fruitcake 'think tanks' won't have her...
A testament to the British class system and Oxbridge credentialism that non-entities like this rise to the top of the power structure like turds.
A testament to the British class system and Oxbridge credentialism that non-entities like this rise to the top of the power structure like turds.
One of our biggest mistakes on the left is choosing credentialism over skill.
We love to elect lawyers, but they’re rarely actual litigators just folks who went to the Ivies. Teachers, litigators, and pastors are phenomenal choices for higher office.
We love to elect lawyers, but they’re rarely actual litigators just folks who went to the Ivies. Teachers, litigators, and pastors are phenomenal choices for higher office.
this has been clear from the beginning with folks like Raphael Warnock but man, being a pastor is like a cheat code for effective communication
September 25, 2026 at 5:17 PM
One of our biggest mistakes on the left is choosing credentialism over skill.
We love to elect lawyers, but they’re rarely actual litigators just folks who went to the Ivies. Teachers, litigators, and pastors are phenomenal choices for higher office.
We love to elect lawyers, but they’re rarely actual litigators just folks who went to the Ivies. Teachers, litigators, and pastors are phenomenal choices for higher office.
Not questioning their credentials, which are impeccable. Unfortunately they say very little about whether one's current worldview resists inspection.
No obscurantism here, but no credentialism either. Past work a poor predictor of current work, cf: every single tech person you used to looked up to.
No obscurantism here, but no credentialism either. Past work a poor predictor of current work, cf: every single tech person you used to looked up to.
September 25, 2026 at 6:13 AM
Not questioning their credentials, which are impeccable. Unfortunately they say very little about whether one's current worldview resists inspection.
No obscurantism here, but no credentialism either. Past work a poor predictor of current work, cf: every single tech person you used to looked up to.
No obscurantism here, but no credentialism either. Past work a poor predictor of current work, cf: every single tech person you used to looked up to.
by US demographics their parents were just more likely to have degrees. and by creeping credentialism perhaps more likely to have post-grad degrees. these data only go back to 1987, sadly.
www.randalolson.com/2014/06/12/c...
www.randalolson.com/2014/06/12/c...
College degrees awarded per capita in the U.S.A.
Randy Olson visualizes how many degrees have been awarded in the U.S.A. between 1987 and 2010.
www.randalolson.com
September 22, 2026 at 11:56 PM
by US demographics their parents were just more likely to have degrees. and by creeping credentialism perhaps more likely to have post-grad degrees. these data only go back to 1987, sadly.
www.randalolson.com/2014/06/12/c...
www.randalolson.com/2014/06/12/c...
Doesn’t that mean admissions will have to be limited by some other means like in countries with? Is this all about white collar credentialism that nobody wants to use the power of the state to rein in?
September 22, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Doesn’t that mean admissions will have to be limited by some other means like in countries with? Is this all about white collar credentialism that nobody wants to use the power of the state to rein in?
I guess that’s the sort of defeatist credentialism I’d expect from someone who can’t make it more than a sentence into an article without thinking you need to go to college to read it
September 22, 2026 at 5:17 PM
I guess that’s the sort of defeatist credentialism I’d expect from someone who can’t make it more than a sentence into an article without thinking you need to go to college to read it
"What remains under-theorised is the systemic consequence: the possibility that generative AI does not merely enable new forms of misconduct but fundamentally undermines the credential system’s capacity to function as a reliable mechanism of competence certification."
Toward a framework of “Synthetic Credentialism”: AI-Generated competence signals and the crisis of academic certification - Higher Education
The rapid spread of generative AI in higher education poses a fundamental challenge to the credential system on which universities’ social authority depends. This paper introduces Synthetic Credential...
link.springer.com
September 22, 2026 at 1:40 PM
"What remains under-theorised is the systemic consequence: the possibility that generative AI does not merely enable new forms of misconduct but fundamentally undermines the credential system’s capacity to function as a reliable mechanism of competence certification."
Diploma mills for middle-class credentialism and party/networking clubs for the heirs of the plutocracy.
September 21, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Diploma mills for middle-class credentialism and party/networking clubs for the heirs of the plutocracy.
I feel like at least part of this is driven by credentialism. So many positions require or prefer an Ed.D that there’s a huge market for what amounts to doctorate mills producing absolutely worthless research
September 21, 2026 at 7:44 PM
I feel like at least part of this is driven by credentialism. So many positions require or prefer an Ed.D that there’s a huge market for what amounts to doctorate mills producing absolutely worthless research
Bender’s at the center of contested debates about LLMs in computational linguistics, just like Guest and Van rooij’s ideas are disputed wrt cognitive computational science.
You’re just doing credentialism
You’re just doing credentialism
September 21, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Bender’s at the center of contested debates about LLMs in computational linguistics, just like Guest and Van rooij’s ideas are disputed wrt cognitive computational science.
You’re just doing credentialism
You’re just doing credentialism
Saying better credential is NOT saying only philosophers can speak of understanding.
I guess the sarcasm in only Art PhDs deciding what’s beautiful flew over your head. It’s a criticism of credentialism.
I guess the sarcasm in only Art PhDs deciding what’s beautiful flew over your head. It’s a criticism of credentialism.
September 20, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Saying better credential is NOT saying only philosophers can speak of understanding.
I guess the sarcasm in only Art PhDs deciding what’s beautiful flew over your head. It’s a criticism of credentialism.
I guess the sarcasm in only Art PhDs deciding what’s beautiful flew over your head. It’s a criticism of credentialism.
Indeed and leads to silly superficiality like credentialism as well as the boomerang destruction of expertise:
> If degrees are meaningless because they do not reflect skills anymore, then academia is also damaged beyond repair; as well as society in general in our ability to have experts.
> If degrees are meaningless because they do not reflect skills anymore, then academia is also damaged beyond repair; as well as society in general in our ability to have experts.
Why does cheating matter?
A personal anecdote and an appeal to junior colleagues.
olivia.science
September 20, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Indeed and leads to silly superficiality like credentialism as well as the boomerang destruction of expertise:
> If degrees are meaningless because they do not reflect skills anymore, then academia is also damaged beyond repair; as well as society in general in our ability to have experts.
> If degrees are meaningless because they do not reflect skills anymore, then academia is also damaged beyond repair; as well as society in general in our ability to have experts.
Honestly don't think credentialism is helpful at this point.
September 20, 2026 at 4:50 AM
Honestly don't think credentialism is helpful at this point.
Which source do you trust, when everyone is arguing nonsense? Credentialism is a powerful drug.
September 18, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Which source do you trust, when everyone is arguing nonsense? Credentialism is a powerful drug.
Despite skepticism from critics regarding hyper-credentialism and costly admissions coaching, Beaton argues that rigorous academic effort fosters deep fulfillment. He continues his extraordinary educational sprint, determined to become history’s most educated individual.
September 18, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Despite skepticism from critics regarding hyper-credentialism and costly admissions coaching, Beaton argues that rigorous academic effort fosters deep fulfillment. He continues his extraordinary educational sprint, determined to become history’s most educated individual.
my grandmother his a history professor, my mother has a masters in anthropology, and i almost looped myself into poli sci. i think if i do go, it would be data science or something woefully credentialism pilled
September 17, 2026 at 7:11 PM
my grandmother his a history professor, my mother has a masters in anthropology, and i almost looped myself into poli sci. i think if i do go, it would be data science or something woefully credentialism pilled
This is the stuff I was talking about that made me think the rationalists took the parts of Snow Crash that are about the ancient Sumerian mind virus *way* too seriously.
And to be clear, Aella is a bad person, I'm just using this to show how these people's brains are fried in a very particular way.
And to be clear, Aella is a bad person, I'm just using this to show how these people's brains are fried in a very particular way.
September 17, 2026 at 3:49 PM
This is the stuff I was talking about that made me think the rationalists took the parts of Snow Crash that are about the ancient Sumerian mind virus *way* too seriously.
And to be clear, Aella is a bad person, I'm just using this to show how these people's brains are fried in a very particular way.
And to be clear, Aella is a bad person, I'm just using this to show how these people's brains are fried in a very particular way.