Sciolism is an uncommon word for an all too common attitude in Coos County. The word, according to Merriam Webster, defines “a superficial show of learning” and a sciolist is a person with a “smattering” knowledge who pretends to be an expert on some subject. Local sciolists can be easily identified by their vociferous use of dazzling buzz words coupled with an ability to speak authoritatively and with conviction while at the same time not actually saying anything or providing information not already obvious.

For example, the recently released PSU study encourages the use of “strategic planning”, (who would argue with that), because it helps an organization “develop effective strategies”. Wow, really!

The report offers a list of reasonable yet boilerplate recommendations and draws heavily from “Strategic Planning for Public and Non-profit Organizations“, by John M Bryson. The authors also rely upon the structure and governance advisory reports, both crafted by local sciolists including rat PAC(K)ers Jon Barton and Al Pettit. The report also reads like a solicitation for additional paid consulting.

Sciolism is a form of deceit which automatically engenders a level of paranoia and I suspect sciolists are natively insecure and therefore especially defensive/offensive lest they be found out. The attitude displays an enormous hubris in that our local sciolists presuppose their own life experiences are somehow more valuable to the discussion than the rest of the public. In fact, sciolists by intruding and inserting their shallow “expertise” into deeply complex issues have been and are potentially very damaging. (Think about how worthless the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport has become for local travel).