the midwit industrial complex
how credentialism, consensus, and performative expertise undermine real progress
There is a certain class of people who are not stupid, but who are deeply unserious. They attend the right schools, memorize the right frameworks, speak in the right cadence, and rise through the ranks of large, slow-moving institutions by never saying anything that hasn’t already been pre-approved. They are not builders. They are not explorers. They are not thinkers in the true sense. They are the operators of the midwit industrial complex: a cultural engine designed to reward simulated intelligence and punish real insight.
To be clear, this isn’t about IQ. Midwits aren’t dumb. In fact, their danger lies in their apparent intelligence. They say all the right things. They know how to cite sources. They often sound impressive. But peel back a layer and you’ll find something hollow: a mind optimized for conformity rather than clarity.
"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." — William James
The midwit industrial complex is not just a social class. It’s a system. A distributed set of cultural, academic, and corporate feedback loops that select for performative intelligence and filter out the kind that threatens the status quo. It's the reason why institutions rot from the inside while claiming to be more "thoughtful" than ever.
the system that rewards nothingness—
Here’s what the midwit industrial complex rewards:
Speaking in abstractions that sound intelligent but never lead anywhere
Citing credentials instead of showing proof of work
Avoiding real stakes while accumulating symbols of expertise
Smiling politely while saying nothing controversial
It punishes:
Directness
Builders who operate outside the academic pipeline
Visionaries who get to the right answer too early
Anyone who threatens the illusion of group consensus
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." — Gandhi (frequently misattributed, but still relevant)
The key to understanding midwit behavior is this: they don’t want to be right. They want to be seen as reasonable. And in a culture where truth has become socially dangerous, reasonableness is a survival strategy.
credentialism as religion—
Midwits worship credentials the way earlier generations worshipped the church. Degrees are the new sacraments. Tenure is the new sainthood. Institutional affiliation is proof of virtue. And questioning someone who’s been "approved" by the system is treated as blasphemy.
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts."
— Richard Feynman