Are you an expert? Frankly I'm tired of hearing the word.. Everyones an expert.. People used to have a job title, now their experts.. The way I look at it, there's always someone better than you.. Shouldn't they be the expert?
expert n. - a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field; specialist; authority. Random House College Dictionary - unabridged version - revised edition, copyright 1984. By that definition, I'd say that multiple people can be experts in any given field. One seems to qualify merely by virtue of having "special knowledge." Is there a particular place you're seeing this? Why does it bother you so?
There you go, your an expert by having " special knowledge ". How many millions of people have this in this country alone.. Just in general, every single day someone is announced as an expert. There's nothing wrong with a simple job title..
The only thing that I'm an expert in is me. I pretty much know what I'm going to do next most of the time. Other than that, I'm pretty much clueless.
There are so many experts that exactly zero people declared themselves an expert in a recent poll conducted on cointalk. http://www.cointalk.com/t70693/ I agree with Borgovan, why does this bother you so much?
Maybe your just not an expert on experts yet. Maybe your just not an expert on experts yet. When people have an extreme amount of knowledge on a subject they become "an expert" - it's pretty simple I thought. I am an expert on Lincoln cent doubled dies and RPM's and a semi-expert on all doubled dies and RPM's. I am not an expert at grading U.S. coins, error coins, Morgan or Peace dollars, any coin before 1837, gold coins, paper money, patterns or private issue coins. I know some about them and generally know where to go start reseaching them but I am no expert. Why am I an expert on Lincoln cent doubled dies and RPM's? Because I have searched hundreds of thousands of them. I have found about 40% of known die varieties. I have added over 100 new varieties to known die variety experts files. I look at hundreds of cents each day. I have $2000 worth of books and articles. But most importanly, I know more than 95% of people including coin dealers at any given show or shop or coin talk board. Given that why would I not be considered an "expert"? I know more than you do about this subject, I know more than most. Why am I not an expert on the things I mentioned? Because I have not, and do not do, or have done the above on those type coins. Being an expert is both knowing what you do know and being able to admit what you do not know - it's as simple as that.
I can be an expert at something without being the most knowledgeable on that topic. I would suggest that an expert is someone who can legitimately make a living in their field.
I kind of like Mark Twain's perspective....he observed "We're all ignorant, only on different subjects"
Everyone knows something that someone else doesn't know and some know more more than they do too. Therefore everyone is an expert at the things they know that others do not except for the ones that know more than all those others know. However, this indicates that I know many experts and yet I do not. Oddly enough I can't remember anyone on this forum claiming to be an expert on coins. Many have stated numerous facts that they found in books, web sites, from friends, at coin shows, on TV and even ebay. Yet I just don't remember any of them claiming to be experts. A decent example of a coin expert that never states that is on www.coppercoins.com That guy, Chuck, has has that web site for years, has written books on Lincoln Cents, made artist type paintings of many of this subject, etc. and yet never says he is an expert. As soon as I know everything about everything, I'll let you know and then I'll be an expert.
I'm not sure that there is always someone better in many fields. Once a certain point is reached, everyone has about the same level of knowledge but differ in exposure to specific details. Albert Einstein once said something to the effect that you shouldn't commit to memory something that can be easily researched. So even he didn't believe you needed to know everything with instant recall to be considered an expert.
I'm apparently an expert on Jefferson nickels, and I didn't even know it! http://www.coinblogger.com/interview-with-bernard-orgovan-a-jefferson-nickel-expert/ When people ask me, or I introduce myself in coin circles, I refer to myself as a Jefferson Nickel specialist.
Specialist is a great way to describe yourself. You let people know you are passionate about the subject, and probably know a great deal about it, without sounding pretentious. Other people can call you an expert, you should call yourself a specialist.
It took awhile, but the magic word was let out of the bag, " Specialist ". No matter what it is, most of us specialise in something one way or another. I had no intention of making 1 or 2 of you huffy. If you consider yourself an expert, have at it. Leading Authority sounds a little better.
