Expert Management and Lifemanship

[ahofer]

Forums discussions in general, and particularly the objectivist-subjectivist conflict, often remind me of Stephen Potter, particularly the short excerpt here.

http://www.heretical.com/potter/expert.html

Without any special knowledge, without indeed any education whatever, it is possible not only to keep going in conversation, but, sometimes, to throw grave doubts on the value of expert knowledge in general. There is no finer spectacle than the sight of a good Lifeman, so ignorant that he can scarcely spell the simplest word, making an expert look like a fool in his own subject, or at any rate interrupting him in that stupefying flow, breaking the deadly one upnessof the man who, say, has really been to Russia, has genuinely taken a course in psychiatry, has actually read history at Oxford, or has written a book on something.

A few simple rules, then, for a start.....

Make sure you read about “plonking”.

 

[Wombat]

From Mark Twain:

"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure".

"Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience".

"The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it". See, also, my signature.

 

[tomissoawesome]

This Potter guy seems pretty sharp. And I'm sure he's a decent fellow. Still, what he's saying in that excerpt doesn't completely square with my own lived experience. I'll concede that maybe this stuff makes perfect sense to fancy-pantsed Oxford intellectuals. But not in the south, I guess? Different strokes.

 

[ahofer]

This Potter guy seems pretty sharp. And I'm sure he's a decent fellow. Still, what he's saying in that excerpt doesn't completely square with my own lived experience. I'll concede that maybe this stuff makes perfect sense to fancy-pantsed Oxford intellectuals. But not in the south, I guess? Different strokes.

Indeed, where daring and intellect in equal parts may travel, as Heath said.