How do you pick your expert? The person you’ll hire to diagnose your illness, fix your plumbing, or lead the town.
If you’re like most people, you start with trust. Who you know and who the people you know know. Personal trust is a powerful selector.
If you don’t know somebody, you’ll probably use credentials. Credentials serve as a surrogate for personal trust.
How else do we build either real or surrogate trust? It’s a puzzle.
We trust signals. Small cues that feel like expertise. A doctor in a white coat, a confident politician, a loud voice. But signals can be misleading.
We trust consensus. If enough people believe someone is an expert, we assume they must be. But crowds can be wrong, and reputations can be built on perception, not reality.
We trust teams. Which team are they on? But teams are built upon ideology, loyalty, and compromise. All of which may have ulterior motives.
So, how do you solve the trust puzzle? You test it.
Ask questions. Look for explanations, not just answers. The best experts have something behind the white coat, confidence, and which team’s shirt they wear.
And be wary of those who avoid the questions.
Real expertise can withstand scrutiny. Real expertise knows it’s limitations. Real experts aren’t afraid of your questions. Real experts pass the test.
