From Gordon Drennan, Ultimo
Reader James Trissel raises—only to dismiss—the idea that rule by
experts would lead to a wise utopia
(11 December, p 54).
He is right that the idea is nonsense. I work in technology and get howls of
protest when I say that experts are the worst people to make decisions on
whether to do something. “So who would you have decide, people who know
nothing?”
Because experts focus on their own areas of expertise, they overestimate its
value to the big picture. They overestimate its practicality and underestimate
its cost and the problems it might involve. Like the man who only has a hammer,
try to use what they know and understand to solve every problem, regardless of
other, more effective solutions.
A world run by experts would be a disaster. That’s why smart businesses have
relegated experts to the role of advisers and implementers, and leave the
decision making to the “business” people—people who see and are
responsible for the big picture.
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