Pelle Wessman

Things about me and the world around us

Experts don’t change the world, society does

The expert. The pinnacle of knowledge within a field. The Einstein. The one who pushes the boundaries of humanities to new heights. The true revolutionary. The one everyone wants to be. The one everyone strives to become.

Or?

The expert truly knows a lot. But the expert mostly knows a lot about something in particular. It understands a field very well and knows how to solve problems and push things forward within that field.

But what about other fields? Does the expert also necessarily knows a lot about the other fields that it interacts with? Is the expert also an expert in integrating it’s solution into the wider context of society?

There’s many types of knowledge. There’s everything from the deep knowledge within a narrow field to the wider, more shallow knowledge across a range of fields. Any kind on it’s own doesn’t change the world, but when they interface with each other and leverages one another, that’s when true change can occur.

By worshipping the expert, the specialist, as the one to change the world, we neglect the necessity of, and the power that comes with, a wider understanding of knowledge.

It’s when society works together to tackle challenges as one, and when the knowledge of a wide range of disciplines and kinds are combined, that true powerful change is achieved.

When through the power of generalists the knowledge of experts are combined. That’s when society truly shines.

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