A similar level of expertise is necessary to understand climate data like the scientists do. The point is a good brain and some common sense can't bridge a gap between you and somebody that went to college for 8 or more years and then practiced what they learned for decades. Not to mention those nerds are brilliant.
How many of you have been to an Ivy League campus? Being a smart person means nothing. There are people so incredibly brilliant that it actually bothers me. Those are the kinds of people you're scoffing at. Those are the kinds of people you think aren't analyzing this stuff correctly. We have no choice but to believe in the absolute most brilliant minds among us. Anything else would be crazy. There is not a worldwide conspiracy in science.
Intelligence is not the same as wisdom or good judgment, and scientific acumen does not automatically result in good, or even reasonable, political views.
History is littered with the fatal consequences of intelligent people who gave in to their baser sides. Herman goering had a genius level IQ; I don’t think it was wise to have put much stock in his opinions, though.
Furthermore, “consensus†is a loosey-goosey word that can mean different things to different people. It’s like the phrase “fair share†- everyone agrees that people should contribute their fair share, but they disagree violently on what that term actually means.