Expertise isn’t going anywhere: we’re just finding new ways to measure and signal it.

Nadia Eghbal: It’s not just the discovery of knowledge (i.e., learning new things) that’s easier now, but also the validation (where your peers, rather than an accredited institution, decide whether your insights are worth discussing) and distribution of knowledge. Sharing new ideas previously required working with centralized gatekeepers, like a... See more

Sotonye Jack: The ‘institution’ of the internet has arisen at the same time that legacy sense-making institutions have struggled with errors and botched predictions... For the first time in history, the power to pursue truth and make up your own mind is backed by the decentralized sum of all human knowledge, which changes the game of expertise from... See more

Gabby Dizon: This shattering of the “geographic lottery” — where you win the location lottery merely by being born where you are, as opposed to showing your expertise from where you are — is now being helped along by the ongoing construction of crypto infrastructure.

Hamish McKenzie: On social media, posers are often given the most status points, and so we’re left with a misleading idea of authority; it seems the people who are loudest in their claims to be experts — the ones we hear from most on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube — are the ones to be most wary of. When self-proclaimed experts are ultimately... See more

Holly Liu: By changing the economics of expertise in gaming, virtual game worlds today can impact the real world, for the first time. With trends such as play-to-earn games, the rise of livestreaming, and the growing contingent of esports pros, players — not just game publishers! — can now create value for the entire community and get paid.... See more

Andy Coravos: When people ask what you do, they really seem to be asking who you are, putting the attention on people’s credentials within institutions (the nouns) rather than on their actions and contributions (how they live, work, and cultivate knowledge in their fields). Expertise is equated with the former, when it should be more about the... See more

Jacob McHangama: Future generations will marvel at the new perspectives, voices, and knowledge that have come to light in the digital era and simply weren’t possible (or deemed desirable) in the age of analog. Where does all this leave expertise? Expertise remains crucial to knowledge production, but it must reflect genuine excellence in a given... See more

Packy McCormick: We live in a world where expertise can be justly claimed by anyone who can continue to prove it. Synthesis and storytelling are the keys to navigating that world. In a world with so much information available and fewer unquestioned experts, the ability to let large amounts of information wash over you, figure out where to dive... See more