# What's your area of expertise? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973 "2006-05-01T17:35:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/1 "2006-05-01T17:35:03Z")
This may have been done before, but I don’t remember seeing it recently. I mostly want to see what people say, so that I can know who to direct questions to! We all have one or two areas of expertise. Could be a hobby, field of study or profession. What topics do you scan GQ for, knowing you’ll be able to provide at least a partial answer? Maybe you’ve even had your name dropped in a thread about it, since someone knew you’d be able to point them in the right direction. For me, it’s classical history. Anything Greek and Roman I can usually manage. Sometimes I can help with Latin and Greek, but enough people seem to be able to read those languages that I get there late. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/2 "2006-05-01T17:45:11Z")
In an earlier thread I was reminded that I was damn good at IBM mainframe programming (COBOL, JCL, CICS, DB2, etc…). Don’t do much of that anymore since I’ve graduated to my level of incompetence as a project manager. I still kick ass on downhill skis. I’m told I’m _graceful_ even on the steepest double diamond runs. 🆒 Drive pretty well too. Never met a tool I didn’t like or couldn’t use. Cook quite well. Know my way around a sailboat. Never been kicked out of bed. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/3 "2006-05-01T18:04:39Z")
Living in snow would be my expertise. Got a foot on Friday night and another 4” last night. That’s our typical spring. Another month and I will call it summer. But it will snow a bit through the summer. We had, oh about 12-18 feet of snow this year. Ya stop counting after a while. No point in it. Our first big snow was 2 feet October 10th. We will get a couple of months of ‘summer’, and then start all over again. Gators are needed, snowshoes are nice (but a bit of a pain). Chains on the plow truck on all four wheels. Yep. Four wheel drive at least on anything else. I pulled my Wife’s Grand Jeep out 4 times last ‘winter’ with the plow truck. Stick the plow truck? Not fun. Did it though. Second time in 13 years. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/4 "2006-05-01T18:09:05Z")
Er - cooking. I can usually hold my own. Um - home improvement stuff - I have a husband who does this and he gets home pretty early so I can call him. That about covers my usefullness. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/5 "2006-05-01T18:10:02Z")
Chess, from playing through coaching to teaching / organising. I’m big on chess problems, not so much at postal chess. I think you American chaps would say I have a ‘minor’ in D+D (1st edition). ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/6 "2006-05-01T18:10:12Z")
Crafts: hand-piecing and hand-quilting, cross-stitch, needlepoint Basic accounting, Excel, Word Catholic stuff ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/7 "2006-05-01T18:11:51Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Catholic stuff I should clarify this by saying that I know nothing compared to **tomndebb** and others on the boards. I just mean that I will open threads about it and chime in with something very basic! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/8 "2006-05-01T18:22:23Z")
Not too many folk know more about Social Security disability law than I do, which kinda comes with having it be the main part of my job these past couple of decades. I know quite a bit about certain aspects of planted aquaria. And I’m pretty good company on a golf course. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/9 "2006-05-01T18:29:28Z")
Beer, blowing things up, the various Whedon-verses, the Discworld. In most areas I am a dillitante and greatly overshadowed by the true Experts we have here. But I’ll go nose-to-nose with anybody about beer and home-brewing. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/10 "2006-05-01T18:31:02Z")
Record collecting. Sound recording and audio restoration; specifically, digital transfer of records, removing all noises. Broadcasting. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/11 "2006-05-01T18:39:00Z")
It depends on whether you mean are we experts _here_ or in our regular day-to-day interactions. I’d consider myself a bit of a music expert (with certain foci of course) as music is both an avid hobby and a bit of a vocation for me. In normal life I like to consider myself an expert on Greek/Roman mythology and Latin, but here on the SDMB (or in meetings with the local university’s classics dept. club) I’m definitely an amateur. There are also a few areas in which, while I may not be able to provide the best and most detailed advice, I can read anything any true expert might say and be able to understand exactly what he/she is talking about. Web design and audio production are two such areas for me. ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/12 "2006-05-01T18:39:50Z")
Track and Field, not so much trivia about participants but I know all of the events, rules and regulations. Child Development is one of my majors and I happen to know a lot about Pre-school aged children since I have been working with them from elementary school on. Whenever I do not know something about child development I can always ask my mother who has been in the field since before I was born. Legos are my most passionate hobby. Cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/13 "2006-05-01T18:47:09Z")
Japan/Japanese Programming Animation Manga ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/14 "2006-05-01T18:50:45Z")
Just back from New Orleans (or, as it is called NOLA). I was surprised to find out that my area of expertise is in getting shatfaced without throwing up. All my rowdy friends were unable to match that feat. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/15 "2006-05-01T19:00:48Z")
I know something about everything, not everything about anything. This feat does not lend itself to answering questions in GQ. I do have an animation degree, however, and I’ve found I’m pretty good at critiquing movies. ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/16 "2006-05-01T19:05:36Z")
Nonprofit organizations. No kidding. If you want to write a grant to a foundation for a grant, I’ve been on the other side enough times to clue you in on what makes a good grant good and a bad grant horrible. I know what a healthy nonprofit organization looks like, and can predict which ones that, in spite of providing very good programs, probably will fail. I’m a damn good listen and usually hear things in conversations that other people miss completely. Body language? I’m your gal. I catch the twitch of an eye, the slight shift in body positioning, the vague curl of a mouth that most people never even notice. I think I’m an okay cook (never killed anyone. yet), but most people I know that I cook for think I’m amazing. I do admit that I’m a damn good baker (desserts mostly), but apparently, I do a fine job cooking. I’m prompt and on time. That’s a skill that not enough people have, believe me. It’s no mistake either, but takes lots of practice and something that I’m always aware of. If you think it’s not a skill, try waiting 20 minutes for someone who blows off their lateness with lame apologies (or none at all) once they arrive. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/17 "2006-05-01T19:05:41Z")
Cleaning antiques. (Work in a museum.) Tudor history. (Am writing a novel set in the Tudor era.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/18 "2006-05-01T19:07:26Z")
Musical theatre, especially the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber Cleaning the natural way Legion of Super-Heroes Cooking, especially low-calorie cooking ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/19 "2006-05-01T19:26:21Z")
OK, ok. I forgot. I can tell you anything and everything about art supplies and picture framing. (After 8+ years I’m finally quitting that job…) ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973/20 "2006-05-01T19:26:53Z")
D’Oh - I forgot one - I’m a Bonanza expert! 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-area-of-expertise/354973.md?page=2)