Problem is that the Elites rarely ever talk to us. Not on our terms at least. When they do talk to us it is to advance their books and attend their speeches and in lingo that we do not understand. What we need are Elites who talk to us as equals, in the terminology of the regular person.

What is wrong with intellectual hierarchies?

I'm not too keen of the idea that everyone can understand everything without committment.  There is some benefit to respecting knowledge, its various levels, and those who have it.  If that means that they are a step removed from 'the herd', whats the problem?   

Franky, I'm much more afraid of the idea that we should reward those who are best at dumbing down the complexities of history, religion, and explosive physics. 

The latter reminding me of the Anarchist Cookbook...

Maybe a reward for those who are the most pragmatic with their knowledge would be better?  Pragmatic, in that they actually help change peoples lives.

You will know I need the "dumbing down".

I enthusiastically support the idea; making animal noises is my usual response to incomprehensible offerings. While the idea that one should tackle the various texts in order to improve oneself has some merit, that is a rather large undertaking, just to understand some specialist's article. Most of us herd beasts don't wish to work that hard at it - you are talking about perhaps thousands of hours devoted to various specialties.

Communication is for transfer of data or feelings from one person to another or others. It depends on the intended audience, of course, but anything which prevents the communication from arriving, whether unusual terminology or overly complex structure, inhibits understanding from taking place. If understanding is the intention of the communicator, then it is in his/her best interests to write on the level of the receivers. Since it's impossible to know in advance what the education level of this group will be, then one would be wise to assume a somewhat unspecialized audience and would explain in ordinary language, any specialized terms within the text. It isn't that hard to do. There are a number of people who find it possible or even easy. In fact, some of them reside right here.

Perhaps, if "herd" isn't palatable, (is there a spell-check feature here?) then an alternate title, such as: gaggle, flock, rabble (that would be me), or (as in crows) cruelty. Frankly, cruelty would be appropriate for being forced to listen to some of the lofty scratchings of some Elites.

I always appreciate the willingness of an expert to ensure my understanding. Some degree of humility and patience on the part of the writer are required in order for that to occur.

I promise to work hard to pay attention - that's my part of the transaction. If the writer wants me to drop everything and read a pile of books relating to his field, well.... 

I need this especially.

I know that I'm reasonably intelligent (al-Hamdulillah), but those academic papers and stuff make me feel dizzy and give me the urge to kill a couple brain cells by watching TV.

Instead of making it a cash award to the Elitist for the herd, make it a charitable contribution to the charity of their choice.

You may even consider up-ing the award money and having them split the prize money with the charity of their choice.  I think that you can figure out what makes the charitable contribution a draw.  That makes the competition a wothwhile and honorable sort of competition.  Not to mention that you can not only target the Elites, but the charity organizations as well.

I'll email you the site that I use as a resource for scholars.

Dear Judges of the Eteraz Prize:

Can I nominate Ali Eteraz? He fits the criteria, and is also one of the nicest people I know :)

 I await your reply.

 Ya Haqq!

Invite them to participate with the understanding they can expect to be engaged by this audience.