> Why should medical advice only be given by practicing professionals?
Same reason people who aren’t lawyers shouldn’t be giving legal advice. A layperson isn’t equipped to know if the advice they’re giving is good or harmful.
Same reason people who aren’t lawyers shouldn’t be giving legal advice. A layperson isn’t equipped to know if the advice they’re giving is good or harmful.
I don't get that either. Why lawyers and doctors? Is it ok to give eg fishing advice? What about mental health? Is it ok to suggest someone go see a doctor? In a way that's also medical advice. Why can't we just use judgement both when giving and when receiving advice?
> A layperson isn’t equipped to know if the advice they’re giving is good or harmful.
I think you overestimate professionals. Even professional advice – in all kinds of fields – is often times bad.
Because wrong advice from either can have serious lasting consequences on your life. Use that as your metric and it becomes obvious. Think “what’s the worse that could happen is this advice is shit?” If the answer is death/sickness/losing your home/another thing you’re not prepared to live with, perhaps consider contacting a professional instead of listening to some rando on Twitter.
> Is it ok to give eg fishing advice?
Are you going fishing for fun on a small pond, or are you going on a dangerous boat expedition that could cost you your life?
> Even professional advice – in all kinds of fields – is often times bad.
Yes, there are incompetent people in all walks of life, but you’re drawing a false equivalence. You’re more likely to get sound advice from a random sample of professionals in an area—especially if it’s a field which requires a license to operate in—than a random sample of laypeople. Additionally, licensed professionals could lose their licenses and have their professional careers cut short (meaning all their years of investment in their craft down the drain) if they’re profoundly negligent, giving them extra incentive to not mess up. A random person doesn’t need to care and suffers no consequences if you take their advice and end up maimed.
Not all fields are created equally.
My inlaw is constantly saying things in convincing ways. I know for a fact that half the things they say is incorrect. Friends and family just want to make conversation. It makes people socializable, it often just feels good. In the back of your mind always think, it is probably in good faith, but still to be taken with a large grain of salt. That's the only rather safe way.
That said, paid advice is not guaranteed to be correct.