On feigned expertise

One of the fears I have as a "generalist" blogger--one who writes on a variety of topics but specializes in none--is that I will be written off by some (or many) readers as a false expert, one who professes to know more than he does. This fear was reinforced a bit for me this weekend in an otherwise unrelated incident.

The weather here in Virginia was unseasonably warm the past couple of days, which made it an ideal time to enjoy the UVA baseball team's 3-game weekend series against East Carolina, a solid out-of-conference opponent (side note--I couldn't be happier that baseball season is finally here, a couple of months earlier than I'm accustomed to from growing up in New England). I attended portions of the Friday and Saturday afternoon games--both wins for the home team--and I decided to stick around for the entirety of the Sunday game as our boys went for the sweep.

From the outset, it clearly wasn't UVA's day, and the Cavaliers entered the bottom of the ninth down by a run. A leadoff single gave the home fans some hope, but a failed hit-and-run led to the baserunner being caught stealing, snuffing out the rally. Immediately, the home fans began grumbling, doing their usual armchair managing. When the next two batters were retired to end the game--the last one on a called third strike on which the hitter was clearly expecting a different pitch--the grumbling and complaining went to the next level.

From the way the fans around me were talking, you'd have thought that the failed hit-and-run and the taken third strike had violated long-standing rules from the baseball strategy bible. As a long-time player myself, however, I had no problem with either play--both of them fell into the "sh** happens" category of baseball happenings. The East Carolina closer did a great job of sniffing out the hit-and-run and making it difficult for the batter to execute it properly, and he later threw a fantastic (and unexpected) pitch for the final strike. Kudos to him. But the false experts in the crowd--ones who clearly knew just enough about baseball to be dangerous, but not enough to be fair critics--ruined the end of the game for me, and sent me home with a sour taste in my mouth.

I cowered with fear, wondering if that's how I come across on my blog when I write about politics, psychology, or technology, topics on which I am more an observer than a participant. It's a hard thing for me to gauge, but I readily admit that I am not an "expert" on all that I survey and discuss on this site. I nevertheless try to be a fair and impartial critic, using what expertise I do have to shed light on complicated issues.

On the plus side, the "Comments" section does allow for a built-in reality check for me. Please don't hesitate to use it when you feel as though I'm acting like the fans who surrounded me yesterday--or even when you feel like I'm not. That's what it's there for. Hopefully, though, my fears are generally unfounded.