Comments on: The Tragicomic Exasperations of Expertise http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/08/16/the-tragicomic-exasperations-of-expertise/ experiments in refactored perception Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:22:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Dave http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/08/16/the-tragicomic-exasperations-of-expertise/#comment-3701 Dave Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:49:57 +0000 http://www.ribbonfarm.com/?p=1182#comment-3701 Methinks: "He who knows and knows that he knows <b><i>not</i></b>is a wise man; follow him." Methinks: “He who knows and knows that he knows notis a wise man; follow him.”

]]> By: pinto http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/08/16/the-tragicomic-exasperations-of-expertise/#comment-3685 pinto Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:19:18 +0000 http://www.ribbonfarm.com/?p=1182#comment-3685 And thus, ClimateGate. And thus, ClimateGate.

]]> By: RG http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/08/16/the-tragicomic-exasperations-of-expertise/#comment-2687 RG Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:21:09 +0000 http://www.ribbonfarm.com/?p=1182#comment-2687 Your post aptly ends with Doubt. Higher level of expertise makes us aware of and aspire to even higher levels. Socrates justified his being called as the wisest of men by the oracle of Delphi by putting himself in the category of He who knows not and knows that he knows not whereas all the experts he heckled thought themselves to be experts. Bertrand Russell called it the problem of the world, that "the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt." Your dog people can become experts only at the cost of becoming cat people. Your post aptly ends with Doubt. Higher level of expertise makes us aware of and aspire to even higher levels.

Socrates justified his being called as the wisest of men by the oracle of Delphi by putting himself in the category of

He who knows not and knows that he knows not

whereas all the experts he heckled thought themselves to be experts.

Bertrand Russell called it the problem of the world, that “the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.”

Your dog people can become experts only at the cost of becoming cat people.

]]> By: Venkat http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/08/16/the-tragicomic-exasperations-of-expertise/#comment-2652 Venkat Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:07:52 +0000 http://www.ribbonfarm.com/?p=1182#comment-2652 I think most bloggers, even the most mercenary money-oriented bloggers, are in large part motivated this way. Possibly the only ones who aren't are the SEO-driven sploggers :) I certainly am. I think most bloggers, even the most mercenary money-oriented bloggers, are in large part motivated this way. Possibly the only ones who aren’t are the SEO-driven sploggers :)

I certainly am.

]]> By: john trenouth http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/08/16/the-tragicomic-exasperations-of-expertise/#comment-2645 john trenouth Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:15:11 +0000 http://www.ribbonfarm.com/?p=1182#comment-2645 "The expert’s first-order agenda is always let me educate you to appreciate me, though he will usually deny it. " An interesting almost-indictment of blogging. How many of us blog to this end? (I know I've been guilty of this at times). Reminds me of the scene in Python's The Life of Brian where Brian walks down an alley lined with "prophets" all hawking thier wares. “The expert’s first-order agenda is always let me educate you to appreciate me, though he will usually deny it. ”

An interesting almost-indictment of blogging. How many of us blog to this end? (I know I’ve been guilty of this at times).

Reminds me of the scene in Python’s The Life of Brian where Brian walks down an alley lined with “prophets” all hawking thier wares.

]]> By: Venkat http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/08/16/the-tragicomic-exasperations-of-expertise/#comment-2643 Venkat Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:10:30 +0000 http://www.ribbonfarm.com/?p=1182#comment-2643 Frank: unique insights and "mess of forced analogies and muddled thinking" aren't mutually exclusive... :) Xianhang: nice post on the ego dilemma. I'll respond there. Not sure I entirely agree that the expert's dilemma is a special case though. Unless you generalize the idea of 'ego' to larger organizations which subsume to some extent the individual in question. Frank: unique insights and “mess of forced analogies and muddled thinking” aren’t mutually exclusive… :)

Xianhang: nice post on the ego dilemma. I’ll respond there. Not sure I entirely agree that the expert’s dilemma is a special case though. Unless you generalize the idea of ‘ego’ to larger organizations which subsume to some extent the individual in question.

]]> By: Frank Hecker http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/08/16/the-tragicomic-exasperations-of-expertise/#comment-2642 Frank Hecker Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:58:43 +0000 http://www.ribbonfarm.com/?p=1182#comment-2642 I can definitely sympathize with the doubt aspect. I'm 2,000 words and still going writing about a topic that I think is interesting (and that to my knowledge no one has addressed before), and I have no idea whether it contains some unique insights or is just a mess of forced analogies and muddled thinking. I can definitely sympathize with the doubt aspect. I’m 2,000 words and still going writing about a topic that I think is interesting (and that to my knowledge no one has addressed before), and I have no idea whether it contains some unique insights or is just a mess of forced analogies and muddled thinking.

]]> By: Xianhang Zhang http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/08/16/the-tragicomic-exasperations-of-expertise/#comment-2637 Xianhang Zhang Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:22:14 +0000 http://www.ribbonfarm.com/?p=1182#comment-2637 The problem of determining whether you are a true expert or not is a specialized form of what I call The Ego Dilemma: http://blog.bumblebeelabs.com/the-ego-dilemma/ The problem of determining whether you are a true expert or not is a specialized form of what I call The Ego Dilemma: http://blog.bumblebeelabs.com/the-ego-dilemma/

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