# How much am I missing by not being an "expert"... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 30, 2018, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314 "2018-11-30T03:19:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/1 "2018-11-30T03:19:02Z")
Ignorance is bliss…or is it? How much am I missing by not being an “expert” at something? Food expert: “I love the flavor layering and contrast of texures.” Me: “This tastes good and I like the crunchy bits” Car expert: “I have an enhanced suspension and use premium tires.” Me: “When I drive my car on these roads, it’s lot a more bumpy.” Movie or audio expert: “I love the way the director framed that scene and used the music so effectively.” Me: “That was a good movie, especially that one scene.” BTW, I’m completely happy with liking what I like even without knowing why I like it! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/2 "2018-11-30T03:24:00Z")
IMHO, it’s worth it to be an expert in _something_. But it’s not worth it to be an expert in any particular thing unless you’re interested in that thing. And no one can be an expert in everything. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/3 "2018-11-30T05:41:57Z")
I love magic. However, the more I learn about it the less I’m interested in it. The mystique diminishes and the thought of practicing anything for weeks to impress some friends every once in a while is not appealing to me in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/4 "2018-11-30T05:50:22Z")
I think it’s probably more healthy to be well-rounded. A true expert in any one thing has obviously spent X amount of hours refining their expertise. Perhaps neglecting other things. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/5 "2018-11-30T06:26:59Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > IMHO, it’s worth it to be an expert in _something_. But it’s not worth it to be an expert in any particular thing unless you’re interested in that thing. And no one can be an expert in everything. This. One bad thing about the net is that you get bombarded with expertise from hundreds of people, and it is easy to get depressed about it. You don’t have to listen to every third rate Baroque composer to be a well rounded person. We’ve increased bandwidth, we’ve increased processor power, we’ve expanded memory - but we haven’t increased the number of hours in the day. Still being an expert in something you get paid for is very useful, since it distinguishes you and makes laying you off painful - sometimes. And being an expert in a field leads to good networking opportunities. But that doesn’t go for civilian life. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/6 "2018-11-30T08:08:30Z")
I like doing origami. I like trying to make a new model. ‘Trying’ being the operative word. Sometimes I am very successful, other times, not so much. The fun is in the trying. If I was perfect I would not enjoy it much. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/7 "2018-11-30T11:44:41Z")
My friend is an expert in music (played in a band for years, works as a DJ, has done a bunch of remixes) and he has said it has pretty much killed his ability to just enjoy music. He hears everything through the lens of his work. So yeah, sometimes its better to not know how the sausages are made. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/8 "2018-11-30T12:04:33Z")
Expertise gives one the vocabulary to describe subtle points in a given field. Unless you expect to be describing subtle points to others I believe that a working knowledge of many fields is better than expertise in any one. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/9 "2018-11-30T12:11:14Z")
[You’re not an expert on Joe Biden sandwich videos](https://xkcd.com/915/). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/10 "2018-11-30T13:00:21Z")
Maybe you’re not missing anything. Consider this passage from Mark Twain’s _Life on the Mississippi_: > [@](#): > > The face of the water, in time, became a wonderful book—a book that was a dead language to the uneducated passenger, but which told its mind to me without reserve, delivering its most cherished secrets as clearly as if it uttered them with a voice. And it was not a book to be read once and thrown aside, for it had a new story to tell every day. Throughout the long twelve hundred miles there was never a page that was void of interest, never one that you could leave unread without loss, never one that you would want to skip, thinking you could find higher enjoyment in some other thing. There never was so wonderful a book written by man; never one whose interest was so absorbing, so unflagging, so sparkingly renewed with every reperusal. The passenger who could not read it was charmed with a peculiar sort of faint dimple on its surface (on the rare occasions when he did not overlook it altogether); but to the pilot that was an italicized passage; indeed, it was more than that, it was a legend of the largest capitals, with a string of shouting exclamation points at the end of it; for it meant that a wreck or a rock was buried there that could tear the life out of the strongest vessel that ever floated. It is the faintest and simplest expression the water ever makes, and the most hideous to a pilot’s eye. In truth, the passenger who could not read this book saw nothing but all manner of pretty pictures in it painted by the sun and shaded by the clouds, whereas to the trained eye these were not pictures at all, but the grimmest and most dead-earnest of reading-matter. > > Now when I had mastered the language of this water and had come to know every trifling feature that bordered the great river as familiarly as I knew the letters of the alphabet, I had made a valuable acquisition. But I had lost something, too. I had lost something which could never be restored to me while I lived. All the grace, the beauty, the poetry had gone out of the majestic river! I still keep in mind a certain wonderful sunset which I witnessed when steamboating was new to me. A broad expanse of the river was turned to blood; in the middle distance the red hue brightened into gold, through which a solitary log came floating, black and conspicuous; in one place a long, slanting mark lay sparkling upon the water; in another the surface was broken by boiling, tumbling rings, that were as many-tinted as an opal; where the ruddy flush was faintest, was a smooth spot that was covered with graceful circles and radiating lines, ever so delicately traced; the shore on our left was densely wooded, and the somber shadow that fell from this forest was broken in one place by a long, ruffled trail that shone like silver; and high above the forest wall a clean-stemmed dead tree waved a single leafy bough that glowed like a flame in the unobstructed splendor that was flowing from the sun. There were graceful curves, reflected images, woody heights, soft distances; and over the whole scene, far and near, the dissolving lights drifted steadily, enriching it, every passing moment, with new marvels of coloring. > > I stood like one bewitched. I drank it in, in a speechless rapture. The world was new to me, and I had never seen anything like this at home. But as I have said, a day came when I began to cease from noting the glories and the charms which the moon and the sun and the twilight wrought upon the river’s face; another day came when I ceased altogether to note them. Then, if that sunset scene had been repeated, I should have looked upon it without rapture, and should have commented upon it, inwardly, after this fashion: This sun means that we are going to have wind to-morrow; that floating log means that the river is rising, small thanks to it; that slanting mark on the water refers to a bluff reef which is going to kill somebody’s steamboat one of these nights, if it keeps on stretching out like that; those tumbling ‘boils’ show a dissolving bar and a changing channel there; the lines and circles in the slick water over yonder are a warning that that troublesome place is shoaling up dangerously; that silver streak in the shadow of the forest is the ‘break’ from a new snag, and he has located himself in the very best place he could have found to fish for steamboats; that tall dead tree, with a single living branch, is not going to last long, and then how is a body ever going to get through this blind place at night without the friendly old landmark. > > No, the romance and the beauty were all gone from the river. All the value any feature of it had for me now was the amount of usefulness it could furnish toward compassing the safe piloting of a steamboat. Since those days, I have pitied doctors from my heart. What does the lovely flush in a beauty’s cheek mean to a doctor but a ‘break’ that ripples above some deadly disease. Are not all her visible charms sown thick with what are to him the signs and symbols of hidden decay? Does he ever see her beauty at all, or doesn’t he simply view her professionally, and comment upon her unwholesome condition all to himself? And doesn’t he sometimes wonder whether he has gained most or lost most by learning his trade? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/11 "2018-11-30T13:01:33Z")
(deleted) ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/12 "2018-11-30T13:15:31Z")
Because our brains are inundated with information on a constant basis, we tend to exercise “need to know” when it comes to concentrating on any particular area and in learning any particular thing in depth, otherwise our brains could literally be overwhelmed. To put it in tech terms, our “CPU” becomes “overclocked”. Add to that the fact that we have detailed information on virtually every subject imaginable at our fingertips. Example: Just yesterday, I had a computer with a user account that had a corrupted profile so, instead of opening up in the user’s profile, it was generating a .TEMP profile every time. Now, I could have taken an online course on the windows registry et al, but I didn’t. Instead, I Googled, “User Profile Keeps Logging in as Temporary”. I had the information I needed and solved the problem withing ten minutes, so there was no need to become an “expert”. I got what I needed to know, and there my interest ended. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/13 "2018-11-30T13:27:00Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Now, I could have taken an online course on the windows registry et al, but I didn’t. Instead, I Googled, “User Profile Keeps Logging in as Temporary”. I had the information I needed and solved the problem withing ten minutes, so there was no need to become an “expert”. I got what I needed to know, and there my interest ended. I seem to have a reputation as a computer expert at work because I know how to effectively Google for quick answers. I’ll admit, this _does_ take some talent; watching other people use a search engine is like watching them edit a document. They have no idea how to quickly skim results and discount the results that aren’t likely to provide a quick and excellent answer. I’m at the point that it’s quicker for me to Google MS Office features rather than try to guess which stupid Ribbon panel and icon has the functionality that used to be perfectly clear in the old menu system. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/14 "2018-11-30T13:37:41Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > BTW, I’m completely happy with liking what I like even without knowing why I like it! There are times when this point of view works, and times it does not. In some ways it can be immature, like the person who goes to a fancy restaurant and gets chicken fingers because they love chicken fingers. In some ways it can save you, like my friend who got into high-end audio, and I always felt there was underlying dissatisfaction when he listened to music, because he was listening for something to improve, and there’s ALWAYS something to improve. There is something to having a thoughtful preference for the things you like rather than a shallow one. People who are thoughtful about their environment are more interesting companions than those who are not. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/15 "2018-11-30T14:24:36Z")
I have often thought that the real reason I never pursued a career in writing was that I feared I would come to hate writing if I had to do it for a living. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/16 "2018-11-30T14:33:24Z")
I think it’s helpful to have at least passing knowledge of things but then there’s diminishing returns in being an “expert”. It’s good to know how to cook stuff but less useful to get into long debates about the only “proper” way to cook something. It’s good to know automotive basics and not drive until your oil light is flashing, but less profitable to debate the merits of different cabin air filters. There’s value in knowing what the parts in your computer are and how they work but less value in troubling yourself over case air flow to get two degree cooler CPU temps. All these things are worth doing if you want to do them and get satisfaction from the best way to cook something or optimize something. But the user experience for someone 60% of the way there and someone 95% of the way there are probably fairly similar. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/17 "2018-11-30T16:11:23Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I have often thought that the real reason I never pursued a career in writing was that I feared I would come to hate writing if I had to do it for a living. I guess I should be glad I never went into porn acting, then. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_McQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@Steve\_McQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_McQwark)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/18 "2018-11-30T16:17:14Z")
There’s an old joke about the difference between an expert and a generalist. An expert knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing, and a generalist knows less and less about more and more until they know nothing about everything. I’ve always aimed to be a generalist because, as several people have pointed out, I can google details when I need them. If I have a rough understanding of something, it makes understanding the details much easier. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/19 "2018-11-30T16:33:07Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > To put it in tech terms, our “CPU” becomes “overclocked”. Buffer overrun is more like it I think. Anyway, I think that it’s perfectly fine to not be an expert in anything, although I think there’s a lot of utility in being knowledgeable about many things without necessarily being an “expert” in any one of them. Kind of like the 80/20 rule in practice with knowledge about things. Learning that first 80% is the easy part; that last 20% is the tough part and what takes all the time and effort. I mean, I’m probably not a real expert in any one field, but I’m pretty knowledgeable about a lot of things- beer, wine, spirits, computers, games, gardening, automotive stuff, cooking, baking, etc… ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314/20 "2018-11-30T16:53:06Z")
You don’t need to be an expert in anything to enjoy it. But I have found that when you know a little more about something, you appreciate it more. I really like to learn more about several things I like to do, and I find it enriches my experiences. I am not an expert photographer but I learned a lot about it and now, not only do I appreciate other photographers more, I appreciate just looking at things more. Photography (and art in general) is more about how you see the world than making a picture. I could never make a living as a cook but I’ve taken some cooking classes and have a greater appreciation for a really good meal. You can certainly enjoy all those things without knowing much about them or even why you like them. Ignorance _is_ bliss. But it’s still ignorance. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-am-i-missing-by-not-being-an-expert/825314.md?page=2)