Who shouldn’t talk about Religion, Science, and Medicine

Why Do People Expect Doctors and Experts to Be Perfect?

There’s this idea that doctors, psychologists, coaches, and teachers are either robots or superheroes. That they shouldn’t have emotions, get tired, or make mistakes. They are expected to always be calm, patient, loyal, understanding, and balanced. And when they behave like normal human beings, just like the rest of us, it immediately causes outrage. Why? Because there’s an expectation that a specialist is a bundle of control, reason, and omnipotence. Honestly, it sounds like they’re supposed to be God, right?

Are Doctors and Coaches Supposed to Be Emotionless and Always Right?

My father had his leg amputated because of atherosclerosis, and he often complains about doctors, saying they’re incompetent and do a bad job. I love my dad, but I always ask him: “What would you do if there were no doctors at all? Die of gangrene?”

Or I often get messages like: “You’re a coach, how can you respond so harshly?” Yes, I’m a person with a profession, not an all-forgiving God without emotions. Although, wait a second — even God, according to the stories, destroyed cities and sent floods out of anger and disappointment.

So no, these expectations of specialists are inappropriate. A profession does not automatically turn a person into an all-powerful being without human qualities. And yes, this post is my emotional outburst today.

What Would Happen If There Were No Doctors and Scientists at All?

First, be grateful that these people even take on the responsibility of studying and treating you, knowing they will be punished and criticized for their mistakes. Would you even have a chance of survival if they didn’t exist? They don’t owe you anything. But only because of them do you have at least some chance for help, treatment, and a better life. They choose this path despite fear and pressure, they research, make mistakes, correct them, and still move the system forward.

Now imagine you get sick but can’t buy medicine because of “evil pharmaceutical companies that conspired to make money off you.” Imagine you need surgery, but there’s no one willing to study medicine for 10+ years and then save your life. What would your chances be? You can talk as much as you want about conspiracies and “alternative truths,” but everything you use today — from antibiotics to smartphones — is the result of scientists’ and specialists’ work.

Second, change your unrealistic expectations of doctors, psychologists, coaches, teachers, trainers, and other professionals who work with people. They also have emotions, make mistakes, get sick, get tired, and get irritated. They are the same people as you. They just chose a harder path — helping others.

Can Everyone Have an Opinion About Medicine and Psychology?

I’m studying to become a life coach and psychologist. I have education as a nutritionist and a trainer. I also have education in business management and marketing. And as a professional, I want to say this clearly today: uneducated people without critical thinking annoy me. Yes, they do. I have the right to this emotion, and I’m not obligated to always be gentle and patient with ignorance, even if someone expects me to be.

Yes, I’m irritated because I’m tired of hearing lectures about God, the soul, and “how the world works” from people who don’t know what the scientific method, hypothesis testing, and cognitive biases are. First, take a course in religious studies, learn at least about three major world religions, read the Bible, the Quran, the Torah, and also study philosophy of religion and the history of churches and sects. Then take several courses in the methodology of science, understand how knowledge is actually formed — and only then start arguing about these topics.

Why “My Own Opinion” Without Knowledge Is Not Harmless?

I don’t want to hear anything about health and nutrition from people without education in nutrition, dietetics, or medicine, who watched some Instagram videos and now want to lecture others based on their “own hypotheses.”

Do you know why? Because these people lack a sufficient knowledge base and real practice. Simply put — they are not competent. Don’t agree? Think you’re educated enough? That’s easy to check. Show your diplomas and certificates. Show how much professional literature you’ve studied. Show publications, research, and practical experience. Don’t have that? Then listen to those who do, and stop teaching them. Oh, you have your “own opinion”? Fine. Then be consistent: don’t use the achievements of science, treat yourself with prayers, eat intuitively, and solve psychological problems with “energies,” whatever that means. But then don’t devalue specialists and run to them when you’re scared and actually need real help.

The truth is simple: in areas where there are verifiable data — such as medicine, nutrition, psychology, and related fields — an “own opinion” without knowledge is dangerous noise. This is not pluralism. This is a cognitive bias known as the Dunning–Kruger effect, where people with low competence overestimate their abilities and fail to see the limits of their own knowledge. It is also a way to reduce anxiety and avoid the effort of learning: simple religious, conspiratorial, or magical explanations give an illusion of control.

What Is the Only Responsible Position When You Don’t Know Something?

Why does this trigger me? Because this is not about different viewpoints. This is about responsibility. The only honest thing a person without knowledge can say is: “I don’t understand this.” And the only reasonable question is: “Where can I get proper education or a professional consultation?” That’s it.