We all wish we could be experts at something. I think it would be amazing to have people run to you as and when they have a problem. Then, you can sit down wisely, ponder over their problems, and pick an answer out of thin air. Well, it may not be all that simple to become an expert. It requires years of study, and years of experience. Six months working in a garage will not make you the mechanic messiah.



Most of us lack the single-mindedness to become experts at a particular topic. We largely prefer to be jacks of all trades and masters of none. Not that it is a problem to try to know only the basics of a large number of subjects. However, the upshot of this is that we lose out somewhere on becoming an expert. We can repair a fuse, fill out forms, and provide some counseling to those that need it. However, few of us non-experts can reach beyond and acquire a level of expertise that the common folk lack.

Even experts do not have knowledge of every subject in the world. A professor of History, for example, may be a walking encyclopedia when it comes to all things historical. He may also have a decent knowledge of the art of the period. However, to expect him to also be a connoisseur of modern art is expecting a little too much.

Similarly, it is not fair to expect a mortgage consultant to be exceptionally well-versed in the fluctuations taking place in the share markets. He may have a fairly good knowledge of the current market situation. However, it is not necessary that he be acquainted with all the diverse aspects that are involved.

And what about psychics? A lot of people claim to have psychic abilities. Yet, only a few of them have really perfected the art of giving psychic readings. So anyone who wants an accurate reading goes to those experts only.

I would love to be an expert in Java or C++ or some other programming language. However, that would take a whole lot of effort -- effort that I am not ready to put in at this point of time. So if I have a problem (and this is not just limited to programming languages), the easiest thing to do is to rush over to an expert and get him/her to help me solve it. There really is no point in hassling myself looking for an answer when there is an expert ready to help me.