Non-expert activists grasp postcolonial dynamics better than certified experts

Evidence

The impressive thing about such people is how, despite their lack of expert certification, they seem to understand certain dynamics within the postcolonial world and hence within large portions of the Islamic world. For them human experience, and not limiting labels like “the Islamic mind” or “the Islamic personality,” defines the unit of attention. Moreover, they are genuinely interested in exchange, and have made it a matter of conscious choice to overstep the rigid lines of hostility put down between peoples by governments. — Edward W. Said, Covering Islam, 346

Categorization

• SEED: Angle on why ‘expert certification’ can be inversely correlated with insight — and the deliberate act of crossing hostility lines as an epistemic advantage.