21 Mar 2023
I'm not an expert in anything. Merely a specialist in a few things.
What is an expert?
An expert is a relative opinion. Depending where you stand in your knowledge of the specific topic, it is someone who knows more than you do. But how much more? I've read somewhere (need to find source) that people consider "experts" to be those who only know 20% more than they do.
An expert is someone who has the knowledge of a topic, about how things have been done, succeeded and failed - but in the past.
To me, an expert evokes the image of a person who has been doing something for a long time, and has a lot of experience.
It does not by nature evoke someone who constantly learns and adapts to new circumstances.
Especially in any fast-moving sector, eg. Technology or Sciences, an expert is someone who might not be up-to-date with the latest developments, or be too moulded in how things were done/understood before, instead of having an open-mind and trying to find new solutions.
A specialist, on the other hand, evokes more someone who has specialised in a topic, always learning more to specialise further.
Need to do some research to see if this is a common perception of the two terms.