I am not an expert in any field and would consider myself a crafts(wo)man. I’ve never had the desire to be an absolute expert in one thing. I am too curious for that, so I’m definitely more of a “master of none” type of person, keen on sticking my nose into all kinds of topics. 
Complete article: Experts, Craftsmen, and Ignorance
There certainly is virtue in knowing a subject well, whether you call yourself a craftsman, expert or whatever. I’ve never quite had the discipline to pursue mastery without getting distracted, but I still aspire to it. That aim hasn’t been helped by getting involved with the web, though, as there are so many aspects to it. A musician usually has to master one instrument; but it sometimes feels like a web designer is expected to be the whole symphony orchestra, which is not really practical.
I’ve always thought of myself as a “jack of [some] trades, master of none.” My interests are too wide, and my patience too limited, to focus on one particular field of expertise.
According to that definition, which I think is a bit silly, there are probably not very many experts around, as I can’t think of many people who would purposefully put aside all other learning to focus on and narrow down their knowledge to one particular field.
I don’t like the use of the word “courage”. Besides, it seems the author is just trying to sound clever and intellectual about something that really isn’t that well defined and could be construed either way.
I’d go for craftsman as well, as I’d be willing to bet most people would, given the bias towards “craftsmen” rather than “experts”. Who would want to say they don’t have the “courage and humility” to learn new things?
I am the same.
I think the difference between expert and craftsman is more to do with whether it is a mental or a physical activity rather than the way Dave Hoover defined it.
I’m neither a craftsman nor an expert. Gimme 20 years and we’ll see where I am then.
The expert will do everything she can to remain wedded to a single context, narrowing the scope of her learning, her practice, and her projects.
I’ve heard people say this about academics (having been one myself). But it doesn’t match the way any expert I’ve met worked.
True story
I was at a national conference on nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy many, many years ago (it’s what my Dr is in). The first speaker was discussing a topic that was very cutting edge, and I could barely follow his presentation. When he finished and asked for questions, one guy stood up and criticised part of the presentation, giving an alternative explanation for what he had just heard. Immediately a second guy stood up and said he too didn’t agree with the original idea, explained why with a different reason, then explained why the first critic was also wrong (having only heard that idea seconds earlier), and gave an alternative proposal. With a slightly confused audience now trying to handle three theories at once but tending to go with the second critic, a third person stood up, explained why all three ideas were wrong, including the two he’d only heard seconds earlier, and gave his own explanation, which everyone then realised was correct.
But the third guy was NOT a specialist in the subject at all, not even a spectroscopist, he was an expert in a totally different field. Nobel prize winners like him do tend to be a bit smarter then the average, of course.
Real experts know a fair bit about many different fields.
Interesting story, and I agree that real experts know a fair bit about many different fields.
I think you have to be a bit of both to succeed in the world of webmastering.
[ot]
I was at a national conference on nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy many, many years ago (it’s what my Dr is in).
Whoa neat, you worked in NMR? Did you do it as chemistry/material science or biology/medicine? We had one of the guys in Nuke Med who started out in NMR before moving over to medicine.[/ot]
This is a fantastic question (and thread). While I happen to agree with Dave Hoover’s comments about the differentiation between a craftsman (professional) and an expert I think the real question is do one have more of a benefit over another. While it’s true that an expert will narrow their field of specialism they certainly wouldn’t be ignorant enough to throw out everything else to ensure the singularity of their work. It’s true that they will try to remain wedded to a single area which they prefer to make their expert field but that does not mean that they won’t make occasional diversions if it will have a beneficial effect on their core focus. For example, I would qualify Andy Budd one of those gifted people who is an expert when it comes to CSS (along with a few other names), but that doesn’t mean that he would lock himself into CSS alone because he knows that without understanding other fields like HTML and JavaScript, the experimentation levels of CSS accommodation is highly limited and it proves beneficial to your specialism to have that additional knowledge. An obvious downside of being an expert is of course that you have a subjective slant or focus towards a particular subject (so the rest of your knowledge may be inherently affected as it will likely be limited to what you need to know).
Where as a craftsman or master of none will have a more rounded widespread knowledge, though as an obvious downside there won’t have been the dedication to a particular expert region and their knowledge will therefore be valued purely on a balancing act. Being an expert is different to a craftsman and both have their own inherent benefits… craftsmen have benefits over experts in that they are more flexible with their skills and are usually more adept at jumping between areas of the industry at a drop of a hat (though those skills are usually unfocused and just defined by how much time was spent on them), experts on the other hand are fairly limited on their impact, but where they do have skills, those skills outstrip those of a craftsman due to the added refinement and focus in gaining skills. I tend to think experts end up as the pilers of the web design industry in that they are the ones doing the detailed studies, research and writing which helps craftsmen better understand what they need to know (as they need it), however they don’t tend to have a high impact in the “real world” in the sense that much of the website building and designing is done by the majority of people (craft-men) who adapt their skills on the fly based on the kind of knowledge that the experts have published to help improve the field. It’s almost a case of teachers and students, the teachers or professors carry on at an academic level making advances, but it’s normally always the students and graduates who are out there on the front line putting the stuff into practice. Perhaps you don’t agree with me, but that’s at least how I see it.
BTW: I think I would probably be better suited to the expert tag than craftsman purely on the basis that I really enjoy focusing my skills into explicit regions of the industry (rather than spreading myself thinly) and I have found myself enjoying writing and talking about the subject, more than actually undertaking the design work. Though whether I know what I am talking about is another subject entirely… I like to think I know a few things but maybe I’ll be proven wrong too! 
My idea of a real “jack of all trades.”
As a kid, I wanted to be an encyclopedic synthesist, probably because of my admiration for Heinlein and various [URL=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath”]polymaths in SF literature. Didn’t quite make it, but I have been called a know-it-all in my time (read smart *** 
) and I often [URL=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Win_Ben_Stein’s_Money”]kicked Ben Stein’s butt from my living room couch.
As a kid, I wanted to be an encyclopedic synthesist
Every day you just get that bit stranger
Nicely put argument, Alex (I won’t quote your whole post). I agree entirely with your distinction between experts and craftsmen.
Funny, my wife says the same thing. All the other kids wanted to be astronauts or cowboys or snipers. I wanted to be a smart ***. I got my wish!
[ot]
All the other kids wanted to be astronauts or cowboys or snipers. I wanted to be a smart ***. I got my wish!
I wanted to be a mad scientist when I was young. Then a paleontologist when I was a teenager. I started out a radiographer. Eventually I ended up here… you see it was a fairly 45° downward angle as far as awesomeness.[/ot]
Whether we’re “craftsmen” or “experts,” we achieve our own degree of … quiet awesomeness. (I like that phrasing!)
I use the 80/20 rule. I either learn 80% about a subject or 20%.
If I learn 20% and have no use for the technology/expertise I quit learning but have enough knowledge for the future.
If I interested beyond the 20% level I try to master about 80% proficiency, I can usually research the other odd 20% or find creative solutions to complete a task.