Advice is Only as Reliable as its Source*
Before taking any advice too seriously and acting upon it, check out and verify the credentials of the provider. Ascertain that they are who and what they claim to be. View samples of their work to evaluate the quality and verify the authenticity. The quality determines the level of professionalism of the artist and the veracity of the content of any statement or claim is a reliable indicator of the sincerity and trustworthiness of the person making it.
The most reliable source of information is that which approaches the subject from an impartial perspective. Be weary of advice that promotes the products or services of the adviser. It is often intended to benefit him much more than you.
An expert is merely a former amateur who has expended significant time, study, and effort to learn his trade, is dedicated to the philosophy of continuous improvement, and has established an admirable reputation among his peers. Seek advice from an expert and that is what you will receive. The best you can hope to obtain from an amateur is a subjective opinion, not to be mistaken for expert advice.
*This is a paraphrased abridgment of a previous blog post titled Beware of Amateurs Offering Expert Advice, published on September 1, 2014.
The most reliable source of information is that which approaches the subject from an impartial perspective. Be weary of advice that promotes the products or services of the adviser. It is often intended to benefit him much more than you.
An expert is merely a former amateur who has expended significant time, study, and effort to learn his trade, is dedicated to the philosophy of continuous improvement, and has established an admirable reputation among his peers. Seek advice from an expert and that is what you will receive. The best you can hope to obtain from an amateur is a subjective opinion, not to be mistaken for expert advice.
*This is a paraphrased abridgment of a previous blog post titled Beware of Amateurs Offering Expert Advice, published on September 1, 2014.
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Michael
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Jun 17, 2015 08:33AM
good advice, but how does one sort the wheat from the chaff?
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Michael wrote: "good advice, but how does one sort the wheat from the chaff?"Michael,
Very good question.
The manner in which a comment is worded and written provides the initial insight into its validity and value. For example, a comment from someone claiming to be a professional writer that is rife with spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors calls into question their claim to the title. A cursory google search of the adviser's name will usually provide sufficient information to confirm whether or not they are who or what they claim.
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Jim Vuksic
I'm going to disagree with part of this - I don't believe in impartial reporting.I prefer the reporter to IDENTIFY his biases, either explicitly, or by being, say, a reporter for Rolling Stone (which presumes some liberal bias).
Impartial means to me that you believe all sides, and present each side fairly. I'm sure ISIS is happy about what they just did in Paris - but I don't want to live in a world in which equal weight is given to young men who will kill themselves just to take down a bunch of non-combatants with them.
'Balanced' may work for some cases - say hard-working American Muslims in Detroit not wanting to be identified with terrorists, and practicing the peaceful side of Islam (remember, we Catholics have the Inquisition on our conscience) - where both sides are basically people of good will (or have that potential if their fears are allayed), though I'm not so sure of some of the rednecks I've listened to.
But impartial calls, in my mind, for people with no stake in the problem, and that usually is enough in and of itself to create a bias. So, not possible.
There IS good vs. evil, better vs. worse, productive vs. destructive, though even history is bad at separating the sides sometimes.
Sorry if I got too ranty there - I am always glad I don't have to live in some places in this world where women are still seen as chattel and less than human). I would not be me - or I wouldn't have survived to adulthood - in those places. It was hard enough to survive the world in which women weren't supposed to worry their pretty little heads about such things as physics and math. I wasn't that pretty, and math was INTERESTING.
Please delete comments if they are unwelcome.Alicia
