It sounds like you are saying experience trumps all other knowledge. You can reason about something and have a valid/more informed opinion than a participant in something

I agree with what you said previously specific to ex cult members, but not for ppl who currently are cult members. A member of a cult has a deeply vested interest in finding confirmation of their life choices and can be deeply biased while someone looking from the outside may be able to avoid said biases. Take it to a crypto example. An ex ETH maximalist may have great perspective on why ETH is the mother shitcoin. But how about someone deeply indoctrinated into ETH who thinks it is ultra sound money? Is their opinion more valid than mine (someone who has never owned that piece of shit)? I observed from the outside, did some reading and drew my conclusion.