THE DARK SIDE OF EXPERTISE

“… science in general can be considered a technique with which fallible men try to outwit their own human propensities to fear the truth, to avoid it, to distort it.” Abraham Maslow, 1966

Expertise has two dark sides. The first is what others think of experts. Many decry or ignore expert opinion. It could be an opinion about the safety of vaccines or the human effect on climate. The second side is this essay’s topic. It is about what experts think of themselves and how this affects their behavior. Although Maslow talked about science in the above quote, what he says applies to people gaining knowledge to become experts. Anxiety and fear can be drivers for expert behavior.

Expertise is Relative I am an expert in physics because I have three physics degrees. Yet, what I have just said is misleading. If I meet an active physicist, she will probably know much more than me. My last published physics paper was 35 years ago, and my physics knowledge has become faded and dusty. When doing science experiments with a child, however, my physics expertise shines. Expertise is relative, and there is always something new to learn.