Re: experts

[Marcus Carr <mrc@allette.com.au>]

Simon St.Laurent wrote:

> I'm suggesting, however, that it may be time to question whether experts,
> by virtue of knowing more than the average developer, may in fact know too
> much.

I understand that, but we still seem to have a different view of where experts come
from and what they're made of. My experience is that most experts are simply the
best in the pool of developers. The fact that they are experts doesn't mean that
they have somehow evolved past what made them good developers in the first place.

> To over-generalize, here's what the problem looks like:

[Points about defining, optimising and combining layers deleted.]

One could over-generalise in the other direction as well. In many circumstances,
the inexperienced are prone to over-complicate a system, whereas someone who really
understands the issues has the confidence to implement what might look light an
embarassingly simple solution. Given the unquestionable complexity of the XML
suite, should we infer that the creators were in fact not expert enough? Probably
not, and besides, what real value is there in this sort of deconstruction based on
hindsight? It won't even assist in deciding who should participate in future WGs
unless one of us can produce some concrete evidence supporting our position.


--
Regards,

Marcus Carr                      email:  mrc@allette.com.au
___________________________________________________________________
Allette Systems (Australia)      www:    http://www.allette.com.au
___________________________________________________________________
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
       - Einstein