"Expert?" Topic

As I was reading a recent article where an "Expert" was dead wrong on a topic I began to wonder what makes one an "Expert"? If I have painted thousands of miniatures am I an Expert painter? Is it the amount one reads on a topic? Is it physical experience such as archaeology, physical skill, travel, museum visits, etc.? Is it the educational level attained in an area? The expert referred to above was a University professor. Are we "Expert" Wargamers if we have played x amount of battles, scenarios, campaigns, etc.? How would you classify someone as an "Expert"?

In academia an expert will have read all of the important books on a topic and be cognizant of all of the opposing arguments of interpretation. Experts routinely disagree but not out of ignorance of alternatives. There WILL be a body of facts that experts agree on and which define the subject area -- though the relative importance of facts within that body may still be debated.

Who determines what "the important books" are? This is part of the problem that I am wrestling with. I am beginning to think that an "Expert" is a very loosely defined designation at best. Since I have taught history for 37 years does that make me an expert historian, or an expert teacher? Both? Neither?

My pastor used to say "An expert is a drip under pressure."

He also said "An expert is a drip from out of town."

The two are not mutually exclusive.

My father said two things defined an expert: he was from out of town and he had a briefcase.

For myself, I think doc mcb is right in an academic setting--which is what he says--and there's something of a consensus on what books are important. The peril of being an autodidact is that you can miss important facts and counterarguments.

Otherwise--well, it's not a licensed trade. It's a relative thing. You don't go with Charlie's analysis because he's always right or right by definition, but because he's studied the problem and has a better track record than anyone else you have available.

The danger comes when people stick microphones in Charlie's face and he goes beyond the limits of his expertise. An expert in tax law doesn't know whether you should buy or rent a home: he knows which works best for tax purposes. A Lit PhD may know nothing even of literature if it was written outside her area of concentration. Most of the people showing up in media as "experts" have gotten 'way out of their depth.

And teaching for 37 years makes you a "veteran" and, by itself, nothing more. Do I have to tell the story of Frederick the Great's mules again?

An "expert" is one of those words that means what you want it to mean.
Much like "overrated" and "underrated".

If volume of work produced makes you an "expert", then go for it.

Generally when someone tells me they are an expert – I hold a little tighter to my wallet…

Oh, they're safe enough that way, Disaster--unless you believe them, of course. It's the ones who are going to do you a big favor who are the financial risk.