Education, experience and appendix surgery

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

If you insist on getting right down to the absolutely stripped bare fundamental, there are extremely few experts on anything in this world. I know a couple of people who are experts, but they are few and far between.

A lot more people who qualify as expert unless you want to stay particular about the definition. And, of course, there's gajillions of people who are really amazingly good, educated, knowledgeable and experienced.

And then are those people who have a few classes, a year, two, three of experience and they are experts.

You know what I'm talking about. I have fallen into this category way too many times. My attitude gets ahead of my brain sometimes. Perhaps you've been there too.

An expert is a person who has the knowledge and can back it up with experience. To get back to that particular definition, I suggest you have to nearly be a senior citizen to be a true expert. There's always something else to be learned and then put into practice.

Lemme come at this from a different angle. This is what I tell the guys in prison:

You need an operation. Doesn't really matter what kind, but for this one, call it an appendix removal. Fairly straightforward operation, yet complications do arise. You have a choice of people to operate:

Person 1: This guy (generic term for male and female cause it's my column and I get to make my own rules of grammar), has never been to med school, but circumstances placed him in an operating room assisting surgeons. He's gone through a thousand appendix removals.

Person 2: This guy is right out of med school and his internship.  Appendix removals, call it a dozen under supervision.

In the words of Ray Parker Jr,, "Who ya gonna call?"

Ok, you can leave prison now and get back to this column.

In keeping with this column, which of these two is closer to being an expert? Shouldn't be much dissension in the ranks on this one.