MetaFilter posts tagged with expert

Criticism of Criticism of Criticism

Toekneesan — Sun, 05 May 2013 05:32:52 -0800

"One can almost hear the anticipatory echoes of something like Yelp in the context of José Ortega y Gasset’s The Revolt of the Masses (1930). The multitude, he wrote, once “scattered about the world in small groups,” now appears “as an agglomeration.” It has “suddenly become visible, installing itself in the preferential positions in society. Before, if it existed, it passed unnoticed, occupying the background of the social stage; now it has advanced to the footlights and is the principal character.” The disgruntled diner, now able to make or break a restaurant through sheer collective will. Against this leveling of critical power, the old guard fulminates. Ruth Reichl, the former editor of Gourmet, recently harrumphed that “anybody who believes Yelp is an idiot. Most people on Yelp have no idea what they’re talking about.”"—Star Wars, by Tom Vanderbilt, in The Wilson Quarterly H.L. Mencken's essay, Criticism of Criticism of Criticism

" the false equivalence between experts and non-experts"

the man of twists and turns — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 03:37:36 -0800

No, you're not entitled to your opinion Links inside: False balance leads to confusion MediaWatch The Tainted Case Against Gay Marriage, The Guardian

Learners are doers, McLuhan as teacher

kliuless — Sun, 29 May 2011 09:09:21 -0800

Wikipedia And The Death Of The Expert - "McLuhan prefigured the Internet era in a number of surprising ways. As he said in a March 1969 Playboy interview: 'The computer thus holds out the promise of a technologically engendered state of universal understanding and unity, a state of absorption in the Logos that could knit mankind into one family and create a perpetuity of harmony and peace' ... Wikipedia, along with other crowd-sourced resources, is wreaking a certain amount of McLuhanesque havoc on conventional notions of 'authority', 'authorship', and even 'knowledge' ... Knowledge is growing more broadly and immediately participatory and collaborative by the moment."

Ultimate reading lists

blahblahblah — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:05:47 -0800

Five Books claims to make you an instant expert, which it may or may not. What it does do is interview an important thinker every day about a topic, and have them select five books on the subject. The results are often eccentric and usually fascinating. Some samples: Rebecca Goldstein on reason's limitations; John Timoney on policing; Calvin Trillin on memoirs, Marcus du Sautoy on the beauty of math, Judith Herrin on Byzantium, Jonathan Haidt on happiness, and lots more, including five books on puppeteering, Nabokov, books for kids, moral philosophy, video games, terrorism, the enemies of Ancient Rome, and cookbooks.

Guitar music is on its way out.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:24:44 -0800

Wrong Tomorrow is a bit like Long Bets, except shorter and without the bets.

Previously on Long Bets

Some articles about expert predictions

Everyone is an Expert on Something

misha — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:39:53 -0800

H.A.R.O., or "Help A Reporter Out," is the brainchild of Peter Shankman (aka skydiver on Twitter). Embracing the philosophy that "Everyone is an expert on something," HARO matches reporters and authors up with sources through the simple process of a sign-up form. Seems like a good match for all the experts here on MeFi. In Shankman's words: "On March 20th, 2008, I sent out the first HARO via email, after moving it off FaceBook. It was a query from the Chicago Tribune, and it went to 491 people. This afternoon, I'm sending out the HARO email to over 10,100 members. It has over 15 queries, from more than one country, and goes to members in over 45 countries."

Teach Me How!

brain_drain — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:51:44 -0800

A Big List of Sites That Teach You How To Do Stuff. That is what this is.

"Not without my formula sheets, sir."

orthogonality — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 17:25:57 -0800

Even experts don't know what (3 and 3/16ths) times 20 is. But it has something to do with square roots and kinetic energy. [single link to excellent youtube deposition]

Probability senses tingling batman!

jeffburdges — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 07:38:01 -0800

Experts can suck at predicting the future. Their intuitive sense of probability is no more developed than lay-people's. A classic experiment is to present two indistinguishable choices are presented, but with unequal probability of reward. Humans look for complex patterns, which don't exist, and preform quite poorly. Rats quickly recognize the choice with higher probability, and preform optimally.

Warning: Pies and pie-like substances have been shown to be hazardous to your health!

grateful — Mon, 12 Apr 2004 11:10:24 -0800

Mmmm, Pie. What do you get when you combine quirky pie recipes with homemade postcards? Why, the Pie-of-the-Month club, of course. Check out timely entries like Election Pie, retro Tang Pie, or Pink Lullaby Pie from a real live Wizard of Oz munchkin. Consult with a real pie expert to answer all your pie-related questions!

Poseurs 101

serafinapekkala — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 13:45:55 -0800

How to Fake Being an Indie Rock Expert. The best advice I've seen all day -- "Start somewhere safe: Sonic Youth."

Cruel and unusual?

da5id — Tue, 09 May 2000 11:41:15 -0800

Cruel and unusual? "Expert witnesses testified that the brief delays give the body time to recover and increase the chance the person will feel pain." What a crock... I wonder if the 3 year old baby he killed and dismembered felt any pain? The punishment should fit the crime. Although the death penalty doesn't deter crime, if we punished those in the same manner that they commited the murder, then maybe criminals would think twice... then again, maybe not.