Re: Mis-Information

["Mike Stevenson" <mike.stevenson@domain.elided>]

Fellow Staggers

It's an old one now, but I was always told from an early age:

 "No matter how much you learn never ever give yourself the label of
'expert' "

'ex' means has been and a 'spurt' is a drip under pressure.



-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Wattam <MikeWattam@domain.elided>
To: TSR Mailing List <stag-digest@domain.elided>
Date: 12 October 1998 21:50
Subject: Mis-Information


Dear All

I have studied the too-ing and fro-ing over this thorny subject and am
somewhat bemused.

What is an 'expert'?  Somebody who from knowledge and experience in the
subject, knows more than others.  So, if we are talking 'real person'
experts, the one man who must stand head and shoulders above the rest is
Tony Hart for the Stag.  I could quote others who are less in the
lime-light such as Roger Morrish, but then a long list follows, probably
nearly all of them on this list.

I have observed that whenever 'experts' of any kind gather together and
debate any subject, tempers rise and diametrically opposing views are
aired, even over really simple things.  Take the case of politicians who
reckon they are expert in running our countries!  Even in relatively simple
matters like the Stag there are few absolutes, even part numbers can be
wrong.  Take the case of over-torquing the cylinder heads or tightening
them hot.  I suspect nearly all of us know this is against official
recommendations and is also technically quite wrong, but will it ACTUALLY
result in problems?

The best Stag expert is this very digest.  By pooling all our individual
knowledges and experiences - the debate over brake fluid was a nice one -
we educate each other and the cumulative expert brain we all now have is an
absolute wonder.  With the very few exceptions of fatuous contradictions,
the contributions - whether questions or answers - are entertaining and
informative.

The ideal is that we all debate the issue of the moment in our minds, place
our views out in public to stimulate debate, and then absorb the collective
wisdom.  Even so, this cumulative wisdom can still be wrong.  There are
very few absolutes indeed and we are all relying on our own biases and
experiences which may not always necessarily be good.  Thus, if we blindly
accept the cumulative wisdom as being the ultimate authority on any matter,
we would be very foolish.  I sincerely hope no member of the digest - or
anyone else dipping in - has relied solely on this digest, as nobody is
infallible and such an action would be naive in the extreme. Only armed
with the digest information to assist us, can we then EACH OF US MAKE OUR
OWN DECISIONS.

It is distasteful that clearly one person has been 'rubbishing' the digest
and its members and for ample evidence of this look in the September and
October UK Stag Owners Club magazines.  That sad and pathetic person should
be removed from the digest.

So, by all means contribute sensible views.  By all means absorb the
results.  But do NOT accept anything said as absolute, only you are on the
spot and only you can make your judgement based on what you yourself see
and know.

Mike Wattam
Triumph Stag Register