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The Digital Tumbleweed
Thoughts and ramblings of an enthusiast
The Myth of the Expert
Second semester of my junior year in high-school had started and I was fairly eager to return to classes and not do the homework that was assigned to me. My last class of the day was a math course, pre-calculus if I remember correctly. I sat next to my friends and we began talking when the teacher walked in and wrote this on the board, “mean what you say and say what you mean”. He then turned to the class, told us to take out a piece of paper and write about what this meant. I looked up and began questioning his sanity… What in the world did this have to do with math?!?
He told us that we would need to be able to express, clearly, the ideas and concepts that we had to in our lives. That understanding the meaning behind that phrase would help us to better ourselves. However, that he would help us to understand this through math. The remainder of the course turned out to be great and we didn’t talk much about this, but I would always attempt to tie what we learned back into it.
It struck a chord with me. Now, I can thank him for presenting the question. I’ve had to deal with a handful of very sticky situations that require the truth and brevity.
With this in mind, how does one manage being truthful and concise while doing something such as marketing or advertising? Both of these professions tend to lead to the twisting of words such that new and hidden meaning is applied. So, how can, in good conscience, people do these professions if they follow the rule of “mean what you say and say what you mean”?
Ultimately everything comes down to marketing and advertising does it not? If I have a task that I need done, I have to market the task to the person(s) doing it such that they feel an important role in the success of the task. If I have to mow the lawn, I can sell the idea to the neighborhood kid such that they can make a quick buck. But, how do I go about doing this? It’s easy enough to say, “Hey kid, you want to make a couple bucks”. However, I’ll likely have to make a second pass at some point because it has a higher chance of being done poorly.
If I now turn that into something like, “I’m looking for an expert grass cutter. Are you that someone”. The kid can take some pride in what s/he is now doing. Plus, they will make a buck and likely make more for doing a great job. But, does this really make them an expert landscaper? No. In fact, it would be absurd to say such a thing.
This being the case, I’m beginning to wonder why in the world we have so many “experts” in any field. Surely Einstein was an expert in his field, but what about the rest of us that are in the back 95% of the bell curve? Can we truly call ourselves experts? The obvious answer is no.
I remember when I graduated from college fully believing that I was a programmer extraordinaire. Man, I was good…I’m tellin’ you. In fact, I was one of those 5% in the world. Once I got into the “real world”, I realized that I’m probably at about 50%…and that is likely pushing it. But, I am expected to market myself in such a way that I portray an expert. I’ve always been confused by this.
Don’t get me wrong, I love coding. I love diving into a problem and coming out on top. But, that sure does not prove me to be an expert. I’m not sure whether it is a fad. that people have attached themselves to or whether it is just something that H.R. people eat up, but it seems to happen far too often. As a hint, when interviewing, don’t tell me you are an expert unless you are ready to prove it.
Be honest and upfront with what you know how to do, and be modest with what you do not. The vast majority of us are not experts by any stretch of the imagination and while you may fool someone into hiring you, there is a high likelihood that you’ll be asked to do something out of your ability. Modesty would have served you well in that case.
In addition to people needing to understand that overstating their abilities is taboo, people making judgment calls need to stop jaw-dropping over the ultimate. There are very few around and you are unlikely to see that resume. Provide a more granular view of the information they are providing to you so that you can assess the true validity of said “expert”.
What are your thoughts? Are experts overrated? Is there a myth? Am I just part of the inept 5% way to the left of the bell curve? Throw it at me. I’m curious to know what you think.
10 Responses to “The Myth of the Expert”
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I’ve been having this same thought for a while. I have a hard time billing myself as an expert in anything, simply due to my own modesty. But honestly with software I think it is a relative term. I have been able to accomplish most tasks I’ve been given with a reasonable amount of success. To non-technical people (managers, clients, users) that’s as close to being an expert as they care about.
@Marco - I see what you are saying, but should it be about more than just what project managers care about? Just because I can make the button do something doesn’t mean I’m an expert. It means that I can accomplish the tasks that the client needed done. Doesn’t it involve the level of elegance of the solution and more?
I think we’ve diluted the term to mean less such that more people feel they are experts…I’m just not so sure how true it is.
I hate the term expert and also hate when people proclaim themselves as experts. I think it’s just filling a void and self-esteem issue that lies from within. What really irks me are all the self proclaimed experts in the social media space - people who write on their blogs about one specific topic and write the posts in a way that they are right and not open to opinions are rebuttals of ideas. Just because you surfed Facebook all through college while hitting the bong, doesn’t make you a social media expert three years out of school. Sorry bud. Real experts have degrees in psychology or have analyzed human behaviors and analyzed piles of data based upon user behaviors and the synergies (yes, I used the word) such data and human computer interaction. Now, please un-pop your collar and put the Jager Bomb down. Thank You!
@Jason - I agree. That was one of the reasons I wrote this. It seems that anyone who is in social media is an “expert”. Essentially calling yourself an expert dilutes the actual status of being truly an expert. I’m not an expert, maybe some day…but not yet.
Simple definition search shows, “a person with special knowledge or ability who performs skillfully.” The bar isn’t set very high. So I would guess, like beauty, expertise is in the eye of the beholder.
@Giovanni - Should that be the case? Any educated person, and some who aren’t, would agree that Einstein was a genius and an expert…even if they had no idea of the specifics of his findings. It’s a commonly accepted understanding.
Isn’t it misleading to tell someone you are an expert if you aren’t? And, why do we insist on bringing the credibility of the term down by overuse?
Think all labels are assumptions. If you can support the expectation (ex. carry a skill set across successfully) you are an expert by definition. Do that long enough and that perception becomes a reputation. If you abuse it, your true colors show quickly. Abuse it long enough and you’ll also gain a reputation
As to telling someone you’re an expert if you’re not, I would think that depends on the definition of expert once again. If your skill set can successfully achieve what someone is looking for wouldn’t that make you an expert?
If I were to say I were an expert in water polo, got in the water, and got thrashed, then that would be wrong.
@Giovanni - I think that supporting a perception of being an expert is not right if in fact you are not. If I beat someone in a game of water polo once and they claimed I was an expert to people, my sitting around and “supporting the expectation” is wrong. It should be wrong no matter when it happens, before or after my bluff is blown…that’s my point.
Why can I picture Plato’s Republic except, in truth they were using metaphors of water polo to discuss philosophy
I thought about your example of Einstein being an expert. Is it possible that that there are degrees of expertise? To support what I’m saying I’ve never heard him labeled as an expert even though he clearly is. The best, a genius, brilliant, yes but expert…no. Why? Because he’s more than an expert or a higher degree of expert. Would you not call the rest of his team members experts because he was smarter, better? Not really. I don’t see the defenition as black and white. If someone claims to be an expert and they are not, their true colors show.
BTW, if you haven’t picked up on it I’m an expert in busting chops
I enjoyed this post. I know the more I learn the more I learn I don’t know. I think it’s good to specialize in what you love the most instead of being a jack of all trades, master of none.
But I agree their are very few experts, that’s why it’s good to be involved in a community and surround yourself with people smarter than you, or at least different specializations.
What I also like about my field, is despite the perception that’s it very competitive, I have found a large amount of people to be very lazy in their development when it’s left up to themselves.
So the possibilities are plentiful for the people willing to put in the time and always absorbing what better coders do.
It’s also good not just to copy other people but try to study it and make it better, I guess that’s what I mean by people being lazy. Seems like as much innovation there has been, there should be more, but a lot of people are content with just piggybacking instead of trailblazing.