Once upon a time the most put upon man in the world was forced to write a weekly blog. He pointed out that he was an expert at nothing, that in fact; he despised experts in general and therefore was not at all qualified to write about anything. His arguments fell on deaf ears. So, it came to pass that I, the he referred to above, became The Reluctant Blogger.
Experts in my opinion, come in five distinct types.
The Real Expert
This expert knows their subject, their limitations and their place. They are as rare as hummingbirds in Antarctica.
The Blowhard
This expert knows a lot about one or several topics. More often then not they come to believe themselves experts on all topics, resulting in a stoppage of both listening and learning.
The Bore
This expert knows everything about a specific narrow topic, speaking only of their beloved.
The Phony
This expert is an expert in name only. They know almost nothing about their topic, but sputter and bluster as if they do.
The Reluctant
This is me. I work in a space museum. I can think of few fields of expertise filled with greater uncertainty than space and history, and I am immersed in both. My museum is called The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. It is in Hutchinson, KS, and is, in my opinion, the greatest space museum on earth, and one of the world’s great museums, period. Bold statements, but I intend to prove them true.
The good news is that this is my dilemma and not yours. I will share with you the wonders of the Cosmosphere’s Hall of Space Museum and encourage you to decide if my boasts are true.
Reluctantly Yours,
Tom Holcomb
Director of Education
You may not feel like an expert, but this is probably the second best blog post I've read today. I mean, "hummingbirds in Antarctica"- nice one.
ReplyDeleteI am not reluctant to thank you for your kind words.
ReplyDeleteOur grandson and his grandparents spent an incredible few days as participants in the Road Scholar program offered at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. We are amazed and impressed with the museum, its location in what to Easterners seems "the middle of nowhere," and most of all the commitment Tom Holcom has to this entire facility and its related programs. Tom is a gem and truly dedicated to the COSMOSPHERE. We intend to do our best to share our enthusiasm for the COSMOSPHERE with any folks we can get to listen. Keep up the great work! We wish the COSMOSPHERE all the best for the next 50 years, and beyond.
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