Expert systems (Re: What's a C expert?)

[Marshall Cline]

In article <4597 at ficc.uu.net> peter at ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva) writes:

In article <4597 at ficc.uu.net> peter at ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva) writes:

>A jewel falls out of the net:
>In article <2014 at dataio.Data-IO.COM> bright at Data-IO.COM (Walter Bright)
>differentiates between knowledge and wisdom. Subsequently...

>In article <CLINE.89Jun16170813 at suntan.ece.clarkson.edu>, cline at suntan.ece.clarkson.edu (Marshall Cline) writes:

>> Consider a large database containing all the valid
>> `C' constructs and idioms.  It might be argued that the database contains
>> lots of `knowledge', but it (the database) clearly is NOT an `expert'.

>But, in fact, there are a lot of such databases out there that are referred
>to by that very name... "expert systems".

I'm not saying that knowledge isn't Necessary for being an expert.
I'm just saying it's not sufficient.  Knowledge all by itself is raw,
and does not (IMHO) constitute expertise.

Take someone who has a photographic memory.  They might memorize `The
C Programming Language' so that they can quote chapter after chapter.
But they are NOT an expert until they can APPLY that knowledge.

One of my principle research areas is AI, which is the reason I
borrowed the example of a knowledge base.  But a knowledge base
without a sufficient inference engine is just a big file.

Anyway, in practice I believe Peter is right.  Generally speaking,
ones expertise in an area increases simultaneously with ones knowledge
in that area, because most of us don't have the luxury of memorizing
gigabytes of knowledge, and then later, gradually, learn how to use
that knowledge.

(As an aside, I often see people passing through a phase after they've
gained a little knowledge but before they've aquired real wisdom: Pride.
This is the time where they _think_ they're an expert, but they're
really not, and often [if they're extroverted] they get really
obnoxious.  Somebody-or-other once said: "A little knowledge is a
dangerous thing.")

Marshall
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