What Makes an “Expert” an Expert?
For those of you who don’t know much about me, my valuation practice concentrates on complex real estate uses, certain types of businesses, and certain types of machinery and equipment. Additionally, I specialize in the field of litigation. Consequently, I’m frequently called upon to provide testimony as an “expert witness.”
The most common question I hear when discussing my business is, “Who’s qualified to be an expert witness?” And, the best answer I can give to that question is, “Who ever a judge says is qualified.”
In my experience, most judges will listen to anyone who has anything at all to do with real estate, including real estate agents, property managers, builders, property owners, and even tenants. But, just because the judge says a person is a real estate expert and listens to their testimony doesn’t mean the judge is going to give any credibility to what they say, and that includes well qualified real estate appraisers (including me).
But, over the years, what I see as the more interesting issue regarding expert testimony is the larger question of, “What makes an ‘expert’ an expert?”
Over the past decade or so, there seems to be a growing division between those who value real-world expertise (meaning people who have extensive hands-on experience at something) and those who place greater value on the perception of knowledge, which is almost exclusively based on a level of academic achievement.
There’s no doubt that a college degree in economics or business may be of value in getting a head start on the learning curve by gaining a basic understanding of markets and concepts of value. But, academic achievement merely minimizes the duration of acquiring basic practical experience in order to achieve the same level of understanding.
An example of this divide between practical experience and academic achievement came in a recent conversation I had with an attorney for a prospective client.
It seems this attorney had a concern about my credibility as an expert merely because I do not hold a college degree.
It didn’t seem to matter to him that I have 40 years of professional experience in the particular field of expertise relative to the issue in question. It also didn’t seem to matter that I had written and instructed several seminars accredited by several state boards of real estate appraisers, written articles, and testified in numerous cases about the very topic at issue. You see, it was more important to that attorney that I have a college degree in anything, rather than having no degree at all.
In my discussion with this attorney, I provided him a few examples of the flaw in his thinking.
I pointed out, that according to his thinking, he wouldn’t put Bill Gates on the stand as an expert witness to discuss issues of software design, or international business, nor Thomas Edison as an expert on the topic of audio recording, nor Henry Ford as an expert in automotive manufacturing and production, nor Steve Jobs as an expert in computer design, product development, manufacturing, or marketing . . . because none of these people has a college degree in anything.
In fact, Edison never finished the 2nd grade of elementary school, Ford never completed high school, and both Gates and Jobs quit college after completing only 1 semester.
In the end, I posed theses questions:
What makes an expert an expert?
Is it merely reaching an academic level of accomplishment?
Or, is it having acquired knowledge through a combination of professional training and decades of experience?
As for me, when I’m flying in a plane through a severe thunderstorm, I want to be flying with a pilot that’s actually flow through many a real thunderstorm; not one who’s primary “experience” is from simulator training. Let’s face it, folks. No airline passenger ever died in a simulator.
In the end, there’s no substitute for EXPERIENCE!
