3 ms·

"Those who speak do not know, those who know do not speak" (I say this as a frequent blogger / speaker, so probably says more about me than I'm comfortable adm

"Those who speak do not know, those who know do not speak" (I say this as a frequent blogger / speaker, so probably says more about me than I'm comfortable admitting) But in all honesty, many are taken in by the confidence man - the loud person casting easy declarations. But we discount the expertise of the cautious person who admits their ignorance and limitations - despite extensive experience.

CM30 3y ago
I've always felt this was a tad reductive, since there are plenty of people who are both very talkative online/good at marketing themselves that are also experts in their subject areas. Hence the best explanation would be more like "self promotion/marketing is a skill in of itself, and those that are good at it aren't necessarily good at what they're selling". So I guess the best strategy is to not take good salesmanship as an indication of anything other than the person knowing how to sell stuff.
- qazxcvbnmlp 3y ago
  “Those who speak do not know, those who know do not speak“ Speak in this context means “tell you I am good at X” If I have to tell you I’m funny, I’m probably not funny but if I demonstrate it by making you laugh - then probably funny. Amount of actual speaking around X isn’t super correlated with how good you are at X. Eg marketing X isn’t the same as being good at X.
  - CM30 3y ago
    Okay that's a fair point. Anyone who boasts about how good they are at something should probably be treated skeptically to say the least. Kinda like how any politician that says they're some pillar of morality turns out to be anything but that. Purely providing advice about something or marketing your skills isn't quite the same thing.
denton-scratch 3y ago
> Those who know do not speak I'm sorry you say that frequently, because I disagree. I have from time to time come across "experts" who would offer only vague explanations of what they were doing, or would shield their keyboard from your gaze. I have always learned subsequently that their knowledge was rather limited, which is why they didn't want to share it. In my experience, the people who know the most have enough knowledge (and confidence) to share it freely.
- washadjeffmad 3y ago
  It's definitely circumstantial. There are certainly many more people who are experts in topics who are not consulted or are left out of discussions that are filled by less experienced people who are better at dealing with human processes, bureaucracy and administration, conflict, etc. Lobbyists come to mind - they tend to be educated, intelligent, driven people who thrive under high stakes and pressure, effective at achieving outcomes but not necessarily nuanced subject matter experts (although many are, or have valuable perspectives). At work, I hired someone to be my "lobbyist". He has no experience or background, but he trusts that I do, and I use him to get through to people that I can't communicate with. It's backfired a bit, though, because he's so easy and enjoyable to talk to, as intended, that management wants to recruit him. I've encouraged him and offered support because it's certainly within his capacities, and I'd love to stack the deck a bit.

CM30 3y ago

I've always felt this was a tad reductive, since there are plenty of people who are both very talkative online/good at marketing themselves that are also experts in their subject areas. Hence the best explanation would be more like "self promotion/marketing is a skill in of itself, and those that are good at it aren't necessarily good at what they're selling". So I guess the best strategy is to not take good salesmanship as an indication of anything other than the person knowing how to sell stuff.

qazxcvbnmlp 3y ago
“Those who speak do not know, those who know do not speak“ Speak in this context means “tell you I am good at X” If I have to tell you I’m funny, I’m probably not funny but if I demonstrate it by making you laugh - then probably funny. Amount of actual speaking around X isn’t super correlated with how good you are at X. Eg marketing X isn’t the same as being good at X.
- CM30 3y ago
  Okay that's a fair point. Anyone who boasts about how good they are at something should probably be treated skeptically to say the least. Kinda like how any politician that says they're some pillar of morality turns out to be anything but that. Purely providing advice about something or marketing your skills isn't quite the same thing.

denton-scratch 3y ago

> Those who know do not speak I'm sorry you say that frequently, because I disagree. I have from time to time come across "experts" who would offer only vague explanations of what they were doing, or would shield their keyboard from your gaze. I have always learned subsequently that their knowledge was rather limited, which is why they didn't want to share it. In my experience, the people who know the most have enough knowledge (and confidence) to share it freely.

washadjeffmad 3y ago
It's definitely circumstantial. There are certainly many more people who are experts in topics who are not consulted or are left out of discussions that are filled by less experienced people who are better at dealing with human processes, bureaucracy and administration, conflict, etc. Lobbyists come to mind - they tend to be educated, intelligent, driven people who thrive under high stakes and pressure, effective at achieving outcomes but not necessarily nuanced subject matter experts (although many are, or have valuable perspectives). At work, I hired someone to be my "lobbyist". He has no experience or background, but he trusts that I do, and I use him to get through to people that I can't communicate with. It's backfired a bit, though, because he's so easy and enjoyable to talk to, as intended, that management wants to recruit him. I've encouraged him and offered support because it's certainly within his capacities, and I'd love to stack the deck a bit.