Comments on: You can call me a lot of things, but please don’t call me an expert

By: Fake Experts, Broken Blogging, and a Real Solution | seth simonds

Fake Experts, Broken Blogging, and a Real Solution | seth simonds — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:42:19 +0000

[...] “You can call me a lot of things but please, don’t call me an expert.” – Edward Boches “The Professional Learning Cycle” – University of Tasmania “Business Knowledge Life Cycle” – Drools “Libraries Stuck in the Middle: Reactive vs. Proactive Responses to the Science Journal Crisis” – ISTL Share and Enjoy: [...]

By: edward boches

edward boches — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:37:01 +0000

Keith:
Looks like we’re in violent agreement. Two non-experts trying to stay that way.

By: Keith

Keith — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 03:11:59 +0000

It says alot about someone when they are comfortable with not being called an expert. A wise man once said that the more we learn the more we realize we don’t know. Proclaiming status as expert is usually a good sign of pride and ignorance.

I’m with you. I’m an expert in nothing. I prefer enthusiast and evangelist.
.-= Keith´s last blog ..Recommended Reading for Aug 18 =-.

By: Leo Bottary

Leo Bottary — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:33:21 +0000

Edward, e.e. cummings wrote a poem (one of my favorites) called "all ignorance toboggans in know." The poem asserts that we actually strive for ignorance with statements such as "here are the five causes of World War II" in an effort to demonstrate expertise, only to slide down the hill to knowledge again once such an assertion is soundly dis-proven. By admitting our challenges (as you suggested) and not being concerned with posturing ourselves as experts, we might actually learn something. .-= Leo Bottary´s last blog ..Client Service And Trust =-.

By: edward boches

edward boches — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:43:57 +0000

The February 8, 2008 issue of Fast Company had this paragraph to open an article titled “No one knows whey they’re doing.”

“The difference between what the most and the least learned people know is inexpressibly trivial in relation to that which is unknown.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

You can stop pretending you know what you’re doing. I know you’re making everything up as you go (hoping nobody notices). It’s OK though – that’s not where your problems are coming from. Rather, your problems are coming from the fact that you think other people know what they’re doing. It’s an illusion that’s wreaking havoc in your life. It’s causing you to doubt yourself. It’s causing you to hide your challenges from others. It’s even paralyzing you at times. No one else knows what they’re doing either. They’re making everthing up too. Relax into your ignorance. Open up. Experiment.

By: edward boches

edward boches — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:40:07 +0000

You’re the first person to comment on the photo. Appreciate that. To me just looked like a bunch of alleged experts who had no idea what they were actually doing.

By: edward boches

edward boches — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:38:58 +0000

I’m not a huge fan of orange. Who picked that color anyway?

By: edward boches

edward boches — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:37:32 +0000

Joe:
I think your example is true across many endeavors. It’s always the case. As soon as you think you know anything, you realize you know far less than you imagined. Happens when you graduate college, after you get your first promotion, the first time you’re asked to give a speech about business or industry. Basically means you can never settle or rest on laurels past. And perhaps more importantly that you constantly find people from whom you can learn new things.

By: David Saxe

David Saxe — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:42:45 +0000

Arik –

While I agree that this is largely a conversation around semantics, I put a little bit more value around Edward’s point.
The discussion started because people were claiming social media expertise once they posted a couple of times on twitter – this is inappropriate and misleading. As thematic as this has become, having this conversation encourages humility and authenticity. People can certainly have false humility, but I don’t think Edward is being self-deprecating. He’s pointing out that even though he IS way ahead of the curve, even he can’t, in good conscience, claim expertise in such a dynamic segment of our industry.

By: Leo Bottary

Leo Bottary — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:23:40 +0000

Love the parachute metaphor. I suppose one can call themselves an expert skydiver until the day the chute doesn't open. In our business, I've always felt you should never take too much credit or too much blame for the final results. (You're not in it alone!) And of course, never call yourself an expert. If you run into people who refers to themselves as experts, they're usually far from it. .-= Leo Bottary´s last blog ..Client Service And Trust =-.