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View Poll Results: An expert/ instructor is/has:
A military background 15 23.08%
A law enforcement background 14 21.54%
LE AND military 15 23.08%
Certification from someone (nra,school x, etc.) 30 46.15%
Read books/magazines? 4 6.15%
Joined a discussion group 1 1.54%
Owns guns and shoots regularly 21 32.31%
other reason 23 35.38%
Are you an instructor? 11 16.92%
Are you an expert? 10 15.38%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 65. You may not vote on this poll

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Old October 24, 2005, 08:45 PM   #26
sendec
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An expert is a person who has mastered the basics and can perform them consistently under pressure, on demand and independent of luck, fate or Karma. They can explain how they do something and why. An expert can evaluate new data and reach a conclusion on its value on its own merits. An expert can continually teach, and continually learns.

They also own and can tie a tie
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Old October 24, 2005, 08:50 PM   #27
MCIWS
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Being this is a firearms discussion forum, I will say that just being part of law enforcement and/or military does NOT make one an expert. I can vouch first hand for this. Although, the few people I believe to be experts were indeed part of the military and/or law enforcement.

I guess credentials and experience would really come into play here. I voted “other,” but I think I should have voted for “training.” How would you classify someone a golf expert, or an expert on modern economics? I would go with their level of education and experience first and foremost.
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Old October 24, 2005, 09:12 PM   #28
OBIWAN
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Two different animals...expert is pretty subjective...instructors are a different matter.

I have always liked the phrase..."sometimes a teacher...always a student"

The better teachers are always questioning the status quo....but not changing their approach merely to be "trendy"

Someone that considers themselves an "expert" probably has quite a bit to learn
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Old October 25, 2005, 02:22 PM   #29
gunsmith1
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Expert?

I guess an "expert" is paid for his opinion. Given that definition there are a lot of "experts" in gun magazines and running shooting schools that I wouldn't trust!
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Old October 25, 2005, 02:26 PM   #30
Pointer
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An expert in anything, is born only of...

TIME and EXPERIENCE

A real expert needs no validation from others (i.e. certification) unless it is required to officially instruct a course, or something. :barf:

An expert is confident... he/she simply knows his own own expertise.
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Old October 25, 2005, 03:11 PM   #31
roy reali
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Know Their Limitation

Some time ago, a study was done to see how people view themsleves as far as knowing things. They gave a bunch of folks a math test. The test went from easy arithmetic through calculus. After each person finished the test they were interviewed on how they felt they did. Some of the test takers were bragging on how easy the test was and that they aced it. Some of the subjects felt confident, but they had some lingering doubts about some of the math problems. They thought they did well, but were a bit nervous.

They then scored the tests. The people that bragged the most did the worse. The people that had cautious confidence did the best.

The point was, that many folks that brag and act like they know everything are actually hiding a lack of knowledge. People that are truly experts in a particular field are confident, but not obnoxious about their skills. I have found this to be the case in dealing with others. Generally, the more a person brags about stuff, the less I am impressed. I have more confidence in a Doctor that occasionally utters the words, "I am not sure," then any MD that doesn't feel they make mistakes.
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Old October 25, 2005, 03:38 PM   #32
Sarge
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Expert: The village idiot, ten miles from home.
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Old October 26, 2005, 12:56 AM   #33
Pointer
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nice!
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Old October 26, 2005, 09:54 AM   #34
DocFox
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Ok gang, confession time. This thread was actually to prove a point to a friend (and we had $100 on the outcome, thanks for helping me win guys).

Now for the explanation (going to be a bit long, sorry)

I've only been on this forum for a short time, but had noticed certain people had very adamant and forceful OPINIONS. The people in question tended to present their points and opinions as if they were experts and others "just don't know what they're talking about". Frequently suggesting (or outright saying) "you're wrong" or "I know more, so listen to me" , never asking a question about opinions, never exploring concepts outside their own box. It was my belief that these would be the ones who would not post in this thread, and I have yet to see one of them do so.

I commend the ones who did post, it shows that you truly thought about it, and questioning the "why's and wherefore's" are what allow us to grow. Remember, Columbus was told he was wrong, and so were most innovators in every field. Even if you are 100% certain you are right, never stop wondeing if you could be wrong, never stop asking someone why they believe what they do. Even the greatest teacher can learn from the lowliest student, if the teacher keeps an open mind.

Forums like this are wonderous places to SHARE knowledge, the more we argue and the less we ask questions, the more the ones who really do know, the real experts, will stay quiet.

All that being said, instructors are a dime a dozen. Good teachers are rare, and are nothing more than life long students that know something we don't.

Experts, well, this is truly subjective. It depends on who you are compared to. Most of us are experts when compared to novices, and most experts are novices when compared to the "one percenters" (the top of the food chain so to speak). It's funny, the one percenters think of themselves as novices, what does that say about the self proclaimed "experts"?
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Old October 26, 2005, 10:09 AM   #35
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Often the more you know, the more you realize you don't know.

As you peel the onion, you realize the layers are many and each layer can be vast. In fact, the journey is endless.
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Old October 26, 2005, 10:29 AM   #36
pax
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sendec
An expert is a person who has mastered the basics and can perform them consistently under pressure, on demand and independent of luck, fate or Karma. They can explain how they do something and why. An expert can evaluate new data and reach a conclusion on its value on its own merits. An expert can continually teach, and continually learns.
I think that's the best definition in the thread.

Someone else commented that there's a difference between an instructor & an expert. That was my initial thought too, but after thinking about it longer it seems to me that there should not be such a difference -- especially if using Sendec's definition.

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Old October 26, 2005, 10:41 AM   #37
CabinJohn
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One more thing...

Let's not confuse being an "expert" with a being good instructor or teacher.

An expert is more knowledgeable than most others in a particular area, and so others view him/her as an expert.

A good instructor is almost always knowledgeable about the subject that they are teaching, but there is more to it than (only) knowledge and experience that will make them a good instructor, or teacher, or coach.
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Old October 26, 2005, 11:19 AM   #38
dave_in_delaware
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Seems I'm a bit late on this post, but "expert" is defined as:

1 (obsolete) : EXPERIENCED
2 : having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience
synonym see PROFICIENT

So, to me, for someone to be an expert, he/she has to have a special skill or knowledge about something (in this case, something gun-related), which comes from training and/or experience. They don't have to have skills and knowledge in everything related to guns, though, to be experts. They could specialize in some particular subject (gunsmithing, marksmanship, history of a manufacturer, etc). An expert can be specialized, focused on one thing.

As far as instructor qualifications, I would think that they should be experts in what they're going to teach. And they would have gotten this qualification by training to do it, or from many years of experience. You don't have to know everything about everything to be a teacher. You just have to know your subject matter and be able to convey it to your students so they understand.

I consider the sergeant at my range who showed me handgun rapid fire techniques to be an expert, but only at rapid fire w/ a handgun. He may know nothing about rifles. Unlikely for being in the Army, but it's just an example. For me, I guess you could call me an expert in using AutoCAD (from both training and 15 years experience), but there's still a lot of the program I don't know about.

Personally, I am neither an expert nor an instructor. I'm a willing student, thirsty for knowledge and improved skills. Technically, I'm probably still a novice, but I'm trying to get better. Practice, practice, and more practice.
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Old October 26, 2005, 10:41 PM   #39
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Definition of an expert...from my Dad.
X is an unknown quanity...
spurt...just a drip under pressure.
I quallify in both catagories.
Actually, I know just enough to know better than to make that claim. I just like to shoot.
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