Voice or noise?

A grandfather bought a hobby plane by mail order as a birthday present for his grandson. The toy arrived in 189 pieces and the instructions said it could be put together in an hour. However, it took the man two days to assemble the toy. 

The grandfather hobbyist got so frustrated, but he worked hard on it for the sake of his grandson. Finally, when it was all put together, he wrote a check, cut it into 189 pieces and mailed it off to the company.

One thing for sure is that I would never want to work or do business with this hobbyist grandpa would you?

There are the hobbyists. They know what they are doing, their hobbies consume them, but most of these people I know have businesses and a stable income. They may call their hobby their “passion.”

And then there are the experts. Education, experience, continuous training, application, and evaluation from peer reviews validate their expertise. And while some are quiet, others are popular because they have made a name for themselves that they really know their stuff.

And then there are the “pretending-to-be-experts.” They may have a casual hobby with a little bit of knowledge, but expertise? Not really.

While the true hobbyist and purists are familiar with their “craft” and the experts surely are competent in their field, their voices are respected and heard.

Meanwhile, striking to be popular, to make a buck or to be accepted are the “pretenders” and though they may not have the legitimate, authoritative and respectable “voice,” they effectively cover it up with a lot of “noise.” They express their opinions strongly and loudly.

A strongly held opinion is still not the same as a fact. But modern day technology today has offered them the digital platform to air their strong opinions even when the opinions are not supported by facts.

When you argue against the facts of an expert, the expert takes it in stride and begins to wonder, “What if this person’s arguments carry weight and reveal something I may have overlooked?” And so, the expert will be quiet, sometimes disturbed, but would maintain their dignity of study and are willing to disagree agreeably until more evidence or study can present the real facts.

The “expert-pretenders” when challenged, tend to use anger to offend, insult and mock those who air differing opinions or arguments, and this is what is happening today. “Do not confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up already.” They seem to shout. When the lack of knowledge, truth or facts is environed in arrogance, rudeness and insult, then this, in my opinion is the height of ignorance.

While technology and social media have democratized learning and knowledge; in many instances it has imprisoned wisdom. Suddenly those 140 characters (and now unlimited) and the constant none stop feed of news and notifications have conditioned young minds to scan headlines, read a few lines and make conclusions. False and fake news designed to induce emotional responses can make people angrier and dumber.

A popular celebrity with a huge “following” through social media airing his or her thoughts on life, health, life philosophy or business may some times be right and inspiring. They may be popular, but that does not make them experts in fields outside their realm. At best they become casual hobbyist, but they could not qualify to be “SME’s” or subject matter experts.

Many have become experts about everything through technology. They can talk about different things with an honest conviction that they are right, but in their confidence, fail to realize that the broad strokes and volume of the noise has camouflaged a shallowness of understanding and meanwhile, the real experts who have very little “following” have their voices muffled.

Opinions and facts are not the same. An expert who spent 10 to 15 years of serious medical study is an expert in his or her profession. But the patient who enters the clinic with a printed article taken from a medical website is merely expressing an opinion. One has a voice, the other one makes noise, both cannot be experts.

We need to do due diligence and best is to have a hobbyist do serious study until they reach a degree of expertise. Then the noise becomes voice and opinions become facts.

Experts never stop learning and the more they know, the more they do not know enough. They are perpetual students and so should we.

(Bestselling book author and productivity expert Todd Henry, Francis Kong and a host of successful leaders will talk about Passion, Productivity and Purpose in a whole day conference entitled: “Die Empty – Unleash Your Best Work Everyday” on Nov. 9 at Samsung Hall, SM Aura. For registration or inquiries contact April at +63928-559-1798).