Expertise and education

Expertise and education are two distinct attributes that are sometimes, but certainly not always, correlated. Yet we often submit to the intellectual authority of those with education, regardless of expertise. This manifests itself in two ways.

First, we too readily trust the judgement of those with advanced education, regardless of experience (which necessarily precedes expertise). For example, I would value the opinion of a young professional with five years of experience working in the marketing department of a cost-conscience, for-profit corporation over the opinion of a marketing professor of 30 years with a PhD and no experience in the corporate world.

The former cannot hypothesize endlessly. The ideas of the young marketing professional have to work in practice, or he will eventually be out of a job. The latter can write papers on “marketing theory” till the cows come home but never has to pay the price if his ideas are useless in the real world. The tenured professor with no experience is insulated from the consequences of bad, or reckless, ideas.

Second, we give weight to the highly-educated in fields that have nothing to do with their educational background in the first place. An individual with a PhD in sociology may be intelligent, charismatic, and well-educated, but her thoughts on macroeconomics or climate change needn’t be taken seriously.

A high IQ or advanced degree in a narrow field does not entitle someone to knowledge of subject matters which they’ve never studied. And it certainly doesn’t entitle them to knowledge of every topic on which they may have an opinion.

In general, it’s best not to take seriously someone’s opinions on Subject A based on an impressive educational background on Subject B.