Today I wanted to write a diary about a topic in which I have considerable knowledge. I started with “I consider myself an expert in the area of….” My thoughts stopped there… although you consider yourself an expert, would others acknowledge you as an expert? Now I’ve seen other authors describe themselves as experts (okay, sometimes they use terms like guru, master, leader, etc) so why was I having such a hard time labeling myself as an expert? Certainly I had enough knowledge about the subject to call myself an expert.
I began to ponder the question “What makes someone an expert?”
• Is it knowledge obtained in a classroom?
• Is it accomplishment in ones given profession?
• Is it the post-nominal letters after ones name that indicates an educational degree or accreditation?
• Is it some sort of government licensing?
• Is it political party affiliation?
• Is it the amount of money someone makes?
• Is it years of experience?
• Is it someone who’s smart?
I used “the Google” to research “What makes someone an expert?” A quick search returned 23,800,000 matches. An advanced search narrowed it down to 942 matches. WOW!
I looked at a few of the entries before heading to the dictionary (as I often do) for a definition. An expert is defined as: a person with a high degree of skill in or knowledge of a certain subject. Hmmm, I’m definitely knowledgeable about the subject. I still didn’t feel comfortable labeling myself an expert.
With the anonymity of the Internet, where anyone can have a blog, publish an article, offer an opinion and call him or herself an expert, I’d like to hear from others on “What makes someone an expert?”