This is what I keep saying: "Scientists do know better than you do - even when they're wrong." Before you flame me, hold on - this is true not because scientists are smarter than everybody else:

When you discover the jagged edges of science, you start to think, wait a minute—maybe scientists' views aren't quite as immaculate as we thought they were. Maybe ordinary people's views can weigh a little more. And I think there's some truth to this, but not as much as some of my colleagues think. Having studied esoteric sciences from the outside, I know that ordinary people have no chance of grasping the details of them.

The lesson is not that everyone else is ordinary (an unfortunate choice of words in this quote) - it is that yes, scientists are as fallible as anyone else (so ask hard questions!), but don't underestimate how tricky it is to grasp some of these technical issues without some effort and background knowledge. Even smart people still need years and years of training to be able to function well in scientific fields.