Re: My advice to psychiatrists - make accurate diagnosis before rushing into treatment for patients

Yowie wrote:
Marshall Price wrote:

*snip*

Don't trust experts? Disregard them?

Experts are people. They have flaws and follies, opinions and beliefs, barrows to push and axes to grind too. There are expert experts, and experts that are expert in comparision to lay folk, but not all that expert compared to expert experts. That being said, usually when a person is considered an 'expert' on a particular subject, its because *other people* recognise their expertise on that particular subject, rather them trumpetting their own horn, and if other experts recognise a person as a fellow expert, that much the better. The more recognised someone is amongst fellow 'experts', the more likely it is (at least to me) that their expertise is genuine and trustworthy.

When the average person lacks the knowledge they need, the seek out these experts because they have the specific knowledge about that particular subject that they need. After seeking out and then getting the expert's advice, it would then be folly to immediately disregard it. If the person seeking out the expert advice doesn't agree with the advice, it seems perfectly reasonable to me to seek out the opinion of another expert in that same field. If the advice of the two experts agree, then it is likely that the experts were right and the lay person wrong. If they seek out a third opinion and all three experts agree, it would then strike me that is even more likely that the experts were right and the lay person wrong, with 4 expert opinions in agreement, its even more likely experts are right etc etc.

There is always the possibility that the expert or experts were wrong and the lay person was right, of course, and thats how we get those incredible stories such as "Lorenzo's Oil" and the like, but experts tend to be experts for a reason. In the end, you have to trust in the expert you choose (assuming you've chosen one) or wing it yourself without the knowledge and experience the expert has. Personally, I don't think I need an expert to change a light bulb (I think I have enough expertise to do it myself) but when the fuseboard at my hosue kept blowing, I chose to call in an expert (an electrician) to sort the problem out rather than trying to do it myself. I feel I have enough expertise to put a band-aid on my son's finger when its cut, and give him a dose of Panadol (you might call it tylenol) if he's got a cold, but chose to use an expert's services when he disclocated his shoulder and when his breathing got so laboured he turned blue.

The moral of the story: when you realise you are not skilled enough to deal with whatever it is and seek out an expert's help, it seems then rather silly to then dismiss the expert's opinion as 'inaccurate' without at least seeking further clarification.

Yowie

My views on expertise are biased by (1) the fact that I'm a piano technician and understand a lot about pianos that is hard even for me to explain to non-experts, and (2) I've had much better experiences with expensive, well-qualified car mechanics than with cheap ones. The mechanic I go to nowadays charges $85/hr, but he's well worth it; he's specialized in my brand of cars for decades and has very good relations with their parts suppliers.

--
Marshall Price of Miami
marshallprice@xxxxxxx
http://marshallprice.wordpress.com
.

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