ABSTRACT
An expert surgeon is a master in the art of surgery, and an expert weather forecaster will usually give good weather forecasts. In humans, as opposed to computers, skills are typically acquired from learning through repetition. The modern concept of expertise has ramifications that go well beyond the mere etymology of the word. Complex social structures rely on specialisation of roles for their functioning. High levels of specialisation are advantageous, but also problematic. A society depends, technologically and culturally on the smooth functioning of the different specialisations working together in unison and producing both information – think of the transfer of medical knowledge from research to the patient – and tools – think of modern computers. Accounts of what expertise is and what it is not helps us deal with a related issue: namely, laypeople’s ability to recognise experts.
