Marc Riddell wrote:
Hello all,
I believe there is something we should ask at this point. This question is for everyone participating in this Mailing List:
What is your definition of an "expert"?
Tough one. You have people who know a lot about a subject, and then you have people who have certificates which say they know a lot about a subject. Sometimes the two sets intersect. Especially with the set "people who like to talk hold forth on their areas of perceived expertise". :)
Seriously, this is what people are still quibbling over at Wikipedia:Attribution and Wikipedia:Reliable sources. No-one can agree a formula whereby people which would allow people whom we would consider experts in the field of the arts but disbar people we wouldn't consider experts in the sciences. The problem is that opinion is fair game in the arts but not in the sciences.
Steve block