4 ms·

I've often wondered if this were true in general or only in the tech industry. Do Doctors, Lawyers, or Nuclear Physicists think they know about everything else

• mattmaroon 18y ago
  It depends. I know it exists in finance to a similar degree. I think it has to do with how insular the particular industry is. Tech is often very insular, because all you need are some hackers. My start up, for instance, doesn't need salesmen, or scientists, or accountants, or even a receptionist or whatever else. I really only care about one or two skill sets, so I could just assume that every salesman alive is a moron and still succeed just as well. I feel like it doesn't exist so much in many broader industries. Great businessmen realize that success is about getting people who are good at what they do and giving them everything they need to succeed, and then staying the hell out of their way. In a biotech company, for instance, some of the skill sets required are science, sales, accounting, politics/lobbying, manufacturing, etc. Successes in an industry like that sort of requires you to be willing to admit other people are as smart as you and know more than you about many things.
• Kaizyn 18y ago
  It probably has more to do with what is used as a measure of status in the field. If your field uses money or prestige, then you are probably less likely to think you know everything about other fields. However, in fields like tech where intelligence is how the nerds establish the pecking order, they are likely to carry over the same sorts of social norms to dealing with those outside the field.