Knowledge tends to be either specific, or general. It is a question as to which prevails, but they are two sides of the coin.

For instance, in armies, generals run things, while specialist is about one rank above private.

While in medicine, GPs are the more the frontline, while specialists deal with the more complex issues.

In science, specialists might know all there is about a given subject, but can they effectively contexualize it?

Obviously the two biggest issues are climate change and the pandemic and while the experts like to point to the more simple minded as the oppsition, the fact remains that how to deal with these issues on a society wide scale is far more complex than the specific issues in question. There are many levels and much feedback between them and when the specialists lose sight of this, they end up reducing the power of their own knowledge, as they paint themselves into binary conflicts, not engaging in complex debates.

The real issue isn't science, it's people and how much thay trust you. Trust is hard to get and easy to lose.