Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Experts

I read this recently on Andy Mort's Sheep Dressed Like Wolves site.

I scoff at the idea of experts. I don’t believe that anyone is even close to being an expert. Absolutely, other people have more experience than us and we can learn from these great teachers, but the idea that anyone has all the answers/the assumption they have finished learning or growing, is laughable.

It reminded me that a few years ago I spent some months collecting some of the definitions of 'expert' which I found being used. Here are some of my favourites:
  • An expert is someone who has the ability to hang on for five seconds after everyone else has fallen off.
  • An ex is a has-been and a spurt is a drip under pressure.
  • An expert is someone from more than fifty miles away with a briefcase.
  • An expert is someone who is also wrong but for more sophisticated reasons.
  • An expert is someone who has made more mistakes than you.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

And it's this sort of attitude this leads people to think that they can fit gas ovens, fell trees, transplant hearts, fly planes and buy houses just by watching a YouTube clip of someone else doing it. Sometimes, just sometimes, someone actually does know more than someone else. And that expertise should be respected, not derided. Sorry, this is my soapbox topic, rant over now...