Rethinking Expertise

what Does It Mean To Be An Expert? In rethinking Expertise, Harry Collins And Robert Evans Offer A Radical New Perspective On The Role Of Expertise In The Practice Of Science And The Public Evaluation Of Technology.

collins And Evans Present A Periodic Table Of Expertises Based On The Idea Of Tacit Knowledge—knowledge That We Have But Cannot Explain. They Then Look At How Some Expertises Are Used To Judge Others, How Laypeople Judge Between Experts, And How Credentials Are Used To Evaluate Them. Throughout, Collins And Evans Ask An Important Question: How Can The Public Make Use Of Science And Technology Before There Is Consensus In The Scientific Community? This Book Has Wide Implications For Public Policy And For Those Who Seek To Understand Science And Benefit From It.

“starts To Lay The Groundwork For Solving A Critical Problem—how To Restore The Force Of Technical Scientific Information In Public Controversies, Without Importing Disguised Political Agendas.”—nature

“a Rich And Detailed ‘periodic Table’ Of Expertise . . . Full Of Case Studies, Anecdotes And Intriguing Experiments.”—times Higher Education Supplement (uk)

times Higher Education Supplement

the Book Offers A Rich And Detailed ''periodic Table'' Of Expertise, Ranging From The Kind Of Beer-mat Knowledge Useful Only In Pub Quizzes To The Levels Of Skill That Enable People To Make A Contribution To Cutting-edge Science. It Considers Wine Buffs And Art Connoisseurs, Hoaxers, Journalists And Pseudoscientists. It Looks At Deep Philosophical Issues Of ''embodiment''-whether You Need To Move Around In The World To Acquire A Language Or The Jargon Of A Specialist Field- That Have Major Implications For The Study Of Artificial Intelligence And Computer Learning. It Is Full Of Case Studies, Anecdotes And Intriguing Experiments. But At Its Heart Are Questions Arising Directly Out Of The Authors'' Work In The Sociology Of Science And The Challenges Of Scientifically Literate Public Decision-making.-matthew Reisz, Times Higher Education Supplement

— Matthew Reisz