Why does everyone think that they are an ‘expert’ on the body, just because they own one?
People will freely give their opinion and comment on what their thoughts are the anthropological observations related to human health, with absolutely no background training on the topic.
Imagine that I asked you, “Could you please comment on the syntactical change of mid 19th Century Russian literature and give your thoughts on it?”
If you answered, “I do not have any opinions on this subject”, I would then ask you, “Why not?”
An honest answer, assuming you had not studied Russian literature at a tertiary level, would be, “I’m not actually well versed on that topic. I have not studied it, nor have I spoken to an expert about it and taken on their opinions”.
What is fascinating though is when you ask a layperson about their opinion of the human body: nutrition, exercise, what is natural and normal for it, how it evolved, etc, they will freely give it and state it with certainty.
Similarly, ‘arm chair sports coaches’ will comment enthusiastically about their favourite sport and/or team, like they have done all their coaching qualifications, coached at the highest level and have all the information that they need.
I have lived in some kind of building my whole life. Be it a house, an apartment, or a dorm room. They have all had running water and electricity mains. Some had gas cooking and heating. Some had electric cooking and heating. Some had other forms of heating. They all had a refrigerator.
However, I would not try to tell you how to build a house nor how the plumbing works nor how to wire the house nor how to most efficiently heat it nor how to get the fridge to make the food cold.
Some of you may know how to do a bit of DIY and fix a couple of broken things, but if one wants to ensure that a job gets done well and passes standards set by authorities, get an expert in. One who has studied and worked in the field.
Why because you own a body or have watched or played a sport do you think that you are an expert in that field?
It is fine not to know everything or anything about something. It is not fine to comment in high and mighty way, with much certitude, when you do not know much about a certain topic.
Ask questions. Expand you horizons. But if you are not an expert, leave it to those who are. Ego is the enemy.
Enjoy!
Scott
