June 1, 2024 at 1:31 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the item On Being an "Expert"
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
June 1, 2024 at 12:01 pm
I read this somewhere years ago and it stuck with me through my career:
" 'X' indicates an unknown and a spurt is a drip under pressure."
My policy has always been that one should never refer to themselves as an expert. That is for others to determine. Especially in this time of anyone and everyone being able to throw out all the crap online, my questions are always "What are your qualifications to be telling me this?", "What are the proven facts behind what you are telling me?", and "What is your motivation for telling me this?"
I'm certainly not an expert, but I am one serious skeptic.
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
June 1, 2024 at 12:08 pm
I truly hate hearing the term applied to me. I simply don't believe it. Can't. It's just not true. However, it does happen. And oh boy, you can see the judgement in peoples eyes when you utter the magic phrase, "I don't know."
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
June 1, 2024 at 2:17 pm
Right there with you, Grant. It's best to admit you don't know the answer if you don't know it. We can't know everything about everything. Usually our knowledge of the subject is more like a piece of Swiss cheese: there's a lot we know, but there are holes in random places (usually because we've never needed that particular feature so haven't looked into it).
Back at the beginning of my career I was hired to teach some classes on Microsoft Access '95. At that time I'd never used Access nor had I discovered SQL Server. In teaching that class, I literally was the expert "who is one page ahead of you in a book. " Any questions they had that I couldn't answer I usually said something like, "we'll get to that in the next module" and then either over lunch or overnight I looked ahead to figure it out. 🙂
June 1, 2024 at 4:12 pm
Grant, even though you don't like the title, you might consider it a compliment that so many DB Admins and Engineers consider you an expert. The best experts are not afraid to say "I don't know", and those that get judgemental when they hear you, or anyone else, use that reply probably don't know half as much as they think they do going in. Hopefully those people will figure that out before they "accidentally on purpose" break a system due to misplaced arrogance.
And I'm sure, similar to what LadyRuna posted earlier, if you have the chance and time (hard during a single full day session) you'd attempt to find out the answer.
June 1, 2024 at 4:17 pm
I once asked my boss what an expert was. He smiled, and told me to break down the word. "X" is an unknown and "spurt" is a drip of water under pressure. So ... an expert is an "unknown drip under pressure". 😂
Roy Fulbright
Computer Consultant
June 1, 2024 at 4:19 pm
I once asked my boss what an expert was. He smiled, and told me to break down the word. "X" is an unknown and "spurt" is a drip of water under pressure. So ... an expert is an "unknown drip under pressure".
Roy Fulbright
Computer Consultant
June 1, 2024 at 10:43 pm
IMHO, true experts have enough knowledge about a particular subject to know when they don't know something about that subject and aren't afraid to say so. Saying "I don't know" is not a failure to be an expert. In the presence of demonstrably correct knowledge and skill, it's a confirmation of expertise.
One of the most difficult areas of expertise is understanding the "Devils in the Data". Many have written very believable "Holy Grail" demonstrations that seem irrefutable that are actually failures in themselves. How people on either side deal with such failures, separates true experts from the others.
It commands very high respect from me when an expert correctly admits "I don't know" or "I was wrong", especially if they take corrective action or can point to other correct resources.
Grant Fritchey... Thank you for what you do and for being a consummate professional.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
June 2, 2024 at 1:59 pm
I have a somewhat different experience on this topic. Starting about 10 years ago there was this teenager who would attend my local .NET User group. He is brilliant. And because he was a student, he would spend a lot of time learning all sorts of things about .NET, C#, etc. The rest of us, being professionals, had jobs we had to do, other tasks at home we had to attend to, etc. That meant that we couldn't put in the hours that this kid could, and I don't think we were as intelligent as he is. At least I am not as intelligent as he is.
Anyway, he had a horrible habit of ripping into everyone who did any presentation, showing either some esoteric knowledge only he knew about the topic under discussion or if they innocently enough made a mistake in what they were sharing he was merciless at showing everyone just how stupid they were. I very quickly learned that I didn't want to do any presentations at the user group meetings, for fear of this kid tearing me apart, verbally. And I believe everyone else felt the same way. The result of this kid's verbal abuse of other people was membership dropped drastically and meetings became less frequent. Finally, this abuse kid, having no one left to verbally abuse and demonstrate his superior knowledge, left just before COVID hit.
I don't know why the leadership of my local .NET user group didn't handle this better. Also, if I had been in their shoes I wouldn't have known how to handle this kid's arrogant treatment of others. I've known other people who were superior in their knowledge of the topic under discussion but had humility on how they would gently correct others. That behavior invites discussion without belittling others, which I find much better to deal with and learn from.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
June 2, 2024 at 4:28 pm
Agreed. When Paul wrote his letter to the Corinthians he said, "Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies." (1 Corinthians 8:1), and this young man is a prime example of this.
Roy Fulbright
Computer Consultant
June 2, 2024 at 5:06 pm
Rod, your story of the younger person reminds me of a situation in which I worked for an IT manager about 20 years my junior in a small shop of about six people. In this instance I was working at my desk to resolve a production-halting failure when my manager sauntered in, hands-in-pockets and asked "Haven't you fixed that yet?". My probably ill-considered response was "Well, Jeff, if it is so freakin' simple, why don't you just go fix it yourself?".
That got me an interview with the owner of the company and his two sons who explained that authority outweighs ability.
rfulbrig, also ego can make arrogant in spite of knowledge...
I think one of the most difficult career situations is having to work under folks whose authority surpasses their abilities.
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
June 3, 2024 at 1:21 pm
I once asked my boss what an expert was. He smiled, and told me to break down the word. "X" is an unknown and "spurt" is a drip of water under pressure. So ... an expert is an "unknown drip under pressure".
That was also a favourite saying for the demolitions expert and raconteur, Blaster Bates. He's the reason one of the corners on the Oulton Park motor racing track is called Knicker Brook.
June 3, 2024 at 1:56 pm
Anyway, he had a horrible habit of ripping into everyone who did any presentation, showing either some esoteric knowledge only he knew about the topic under discussion or if they innocently enough made a mistake in what they were sharing he was merciless at showing everyone just how stupid they were. I very quickly learned that I didn't want to do any presentations at the user group meetings, for fear of this kid tearing me apart, verbally. And I believe everyone else felt the same way.
Sadly that behaviour is more common than you'd think.
There was guy on LinkedIn like this. Publishes an absolute roast of various things he has seen on database forums under the title "to laugh or to cry". He styles himself as an educator and although he does know a great deal about SQL and RDBMS theory I find his approach so off putting that I'd be concentrating so hard on the blocking the bullying and abuse that I'd inadvertently block any knowledge he had to offer.
Compare and contrast Dr. Venkat Subramaniam. I've been privileged to attend one of his lectures hosted by a vendor at the Manchester (UK) Museum of Science and Industry. The museum staff had fired up Baby for the evening and there was a small, quiet guy asking some really interesting questions. The staff didn't know who he was but responded to his questions with enthusiasm. Yep, Dr Subramaniam. His approach is to ask gentle questions that steer you away from your own errors and towards the answers you need. He is also genuinely enthusiastic about the various technical challenges his audience face. It is almost worth being wrong to go through the experience of him steering you back to a true course.
People have to feel comfortable to ask you questions and to feel safe to talk to you when they are stressed out. I've found that when people are stressed out they overlook really simple solutions and although they know the solution is simple they just can't see it. They know they are going to kick themselves but they need you to be a safe person with whom they are unashamed when administering their own kicking.
June 3, 2024 at 2:17 pm
Rod, your story of the younger person reminds me of a situation in which I worked for an IT manager about 20 years my junior in a small shop of about six people. In this instance I was working at my desk to resolve a production-halting failure when my manager sauntered in, hands-in-pockets and asked "Haven't you fixed that yet?". My probably ill-considered response was "Well, Jeff, if it is so freakin' simple, why don't you just go fix it yourself?".
That got me an interview with the owner of the company and his two sons who explained that authority outweighs ability.
rfulbrig, also ego can make arrogant in spite of knowledge...
I think one of the most difficult career situations is having to work under folks whose authority surpasses their abilities.
Nicely put, Rick.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
June 3, 2024 at 2:21 pm
@david.Poole, I don't know Dr. Venkat Subramaniam, but it sounds to me like I could learn a lot from Dr. Venkat Subramaniam. There's someone who is confident in their ability and knowledge, without having to feel like they need to prove it. It sounds like that's a person I could learn a lot from, without feeling embarrassed.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
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