We are seeing this phenomenon play out quite a lot. Success or expertise in some areas does not translate to expertise in other/all areas.

At a personal level, we need to be really conscious and careful about whom we listen to or believe blindly. It’s always helpful to reflect, ask questions and think deeper before giving the benefit of doubt to any point of view (including experts) and allowing it to influence/become our own. It’s also important to remind ourselves and watch out constantly to not fall into this fallacy.

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“The idea that expertise in one area automatically translates to expertise in another is a cognitive bias, often called the “spillover fallacy” or “ultracrepidarianism,” where individuals mistakenly assume their knowledge in one field applies to unrelated areas.

The Fallacy:
Expertise is highly specific to a particular field. A person’s knowledge and skills in one area don’t necessarily extend to other, unrelated domains.

Examples:
A brilliant scientist might be a poor writer, or a world-renowned geologist might not be knowledgeable in philosophy.
Someone who is an expert in a particular programming language might not be an expert in other programming languages or in web development.
(Success/expertise in business might not translate to expertise in science.)

Related Concepts:
Dunning-Kruger Effect: This cognitive bias describes individuals with limited competence in a specific area overestimating their abilities.
Curse of Knowledge: This bias occurs when experts assume others share their knowledge and understanding, leading to difficulty explaining things clearly.

Why it Matters:
Recognizing the limits of one’s expertise is crucial for effective learning, decision-making, and collaboration. Overestimating one’s knowledge can lead to poor decisions, wasted resources, and even harm.

How to Mitigate:
Seek diverse perspectives: Consult with experts (listen to multiple points of view with an open mind) in different fields to gain a broader understanding of a problem.
Acknowledge your limitations: Be open to the possibility that you don’t know everything and be willing to learn from others.
Think like a beginner: Try to understand concepts from a novice’s perspective to better grasp the complexities of a field.”
Develop, constantly work on a growth mindset.
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A valuable comment that I received from an ex colleague on this topic:

“The mindset to think like a beginner is a blessing if there is a mentor. I did waste a lot of my time when I was learning something new since there was no one to guide me. Rabbit hole is one aspect where I spent my whole weekend on something and I couldn’t answer what new did I learn related to the new topic I was planning to learn. Finding a mentor never occurred to me at that time.

Today, AI can play the role of a mentor to provide roadmap when I start learning something new so that I can save my time and energy. Yes, asking the right questions and validating the response is one of the key thing.”

Source: Notes from Google Search Generative AI, with few personal edits
Image Source: OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay