I am constantly astounded by people who ask me the most basic of questions about subject matter in which I have, what I consider to be, a rudimentary understanding. I am an expert in nothing. I have a high degree of interest and therefore knowledge in very specific areas which are interest to no one in particular. Want to know how many Marx Brothers there were? And how many made films? Could Harpo really talk? What was the original title for Star Trek and how many productions companies did Gene Roddenberry pitch it before being picked up, and by whom? The nomenclature of Mercedes-Benz cars from 1950 through to 2019. What cmd-shift 4 does differently to cmd-shift 3. Where Steve Jobs got/stole the idea for the computer mouse. How I ever got a girlfriend and then married, twice, remains a mystery to me.
I contend that you dear reader are the same but in different areas. I have a friend who recites details of weapons of war from the trebuchet through to F-22 Raptor. Another who is expert in the history of Australian Men’s hockey from club to Olympic level. Mrs Russell, in her professional capacity as a medical specialist practice manager, can decipher the fine print in both Medicare legalese and health insurance fund PDS. So what? Well if you have ever had anything to do with Medicare rebates and private health insurance funds you’ll know getting the maximum dollars back is not what they are interested in helping you do. So having someone with in-depth knowledge of how to work their systems for your advantage is incredibly beneficial.
Yet none of them places value on their highly specialised knowledge.
We all seem to take for granted the acquired knowledge built over the course of our lives. It may not directly serve us professionally or even socially now or any time in the future. But it does serve to make us unique. No matter when we’re all being sheep and buying the same iPhone (with minor changes to give the illusion of choice) or watching the same TV so we can relate to the rest of the tribe, I believe our individual knowledge banks coupled with experiences only garnered individually are what makes me, me. And you, you.
All that is to say, Roy Batty is right.