What's an expert?

I have to say that I really enjoy the discussion forums for my class. Being able to get another's perspective on something I have read is what makes it more real for me. Seeing what others have to say open up new doors of meaning that allow me to understand some of the nuances I hadn't picked up the first time I went through a piece.

During a discussion about a parallel I saw between a computer program that's currently available and a type of library that has existed in America's past, one of my classmates posed a question: "when do we require an authoritative figure to act as our teacher and when is it acceptable to learn from someone in our community who is willing to share what they own, their knowledge, with others?" She also posed a question about the distinction of an expert vs. a non-expert, which got me thinking: how can you distinguish between an expert and a non-expert, and when can that distinction be made?

Here is how I responded on the forum:

"The expert vs. non-expert question you posed got me thinking. I don't know if there really is an all-inclusive standard that we can use to make this distinction. Education can be considered a foundation that paves the way to someone becoming an 'expert' in a topic, but sometimes no formal education (meaning education in a classroom) has taken place. Experience I think is what distinguishes between expert and non-expert, but even then it's such a gray area. How much experience is needed? Wouldn't it depend on the subject or topic in question? The experience to be an 'expert' in arithmetic would be considerably less than that required to be an expert in automotive mechanics. Dictionary.com defines an expert as 'a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field; specialist; authority.' Even that description is rather vague. Who determines that you have become an expert? Maybe it also depends on how often other colleagues in your field seek you out for information. If other librarians are coming to you with questions about librarianship and libraries, does that make you an expert? I have to say [name omitted] that you really got me thinking about this!


Since ideas, methods, and information constantly change, it could make staying an expert a very difficult thing. Much of one's time (depending on the subject of expertise) could be taken up with researching the latest ideas, methods, and information on one's chosen subject. (This is where we would come in as librarians!)"

In response to my comments, she brought up the idea of confidence and how that relates to the role of expert, specifically how much experience/knowledge it would take to get such confidence. She also wondered if it (an expert's confidence) would be seen as the same as self-promotion or narcissism on an online site like Facebook.

My thoughts:

"In response to your comments about confidence, I would agree that it would play a part in the role of being an expert. I don't have an answer as to the level of knowledge and experience that would lead to the confidence factor. However, I think that it would have something to do with one's comfort level. If you have enough knowledge and experience to be comfortable with a particular subject area, one could reason that you will also be gaining the confidence that would lead to a role as an expert. Unfortunately, "comfort" is so subjective and it would be different for each person. Also, I think that there is a distinction between confidence and self-promotion or narcissism. Your confidence with a particular subject wouldn't necessarily preclude you from being willing to listen to or taking an interest in other points of view. A self-promoter or narcissist by definition would probably find it very hard to even consider other viewpoints on a topic, as they would want to make others believe that their point of view is the (only) correct one."
And the debate continues...
 
If you want to jump in with your own ideas or perspective, please don't hesitate to leave a comment. :)