>It’s not about credential hustling, it’s about having more tools in the toolbox.
Yes. However, there's a strain of anti-intellectualism in the US that denigrates knowledge and learning, as Isaac Asimov observed:
"Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge'"[0]
This is discussed in greater detail in Tom Nichols 2017 book The Death of Expertise[1].
This is exacerbated of course, by the Dunning-Kruger effect[2]. I mean, heck, why should I go to a cardiologist for my heart condition? I'm a plumber and watched youtube videos about the cardiovascular system. Which is exactly the same as indoor plumbing, so I'm doing my triple bypass surgery myself. Fuck you, medical establishment. With your "school" and "residency" and other gatekeeping. It's all a scam! Anyone (and especially me!) can do all of this stuff without some "doctor"![3]
The academic fraud in US is at its peak. Harvard President was caught red handed plagiarizing. Many scientific papers are not reproducible and more than 50% in some cases.
Most academics are sophist. Most universities practice scientism instead of science.
Erudition has been replaced with test taking and sophistry.
That is what you test-taking, credential hustlers do not understand.