Independence of one’s opinions

Article by Ninoscha Mendosa

What it really takes to be an expert.

Imagine chilling in your bedroom, watching cat videos, and just- chilling; till you’re older brother walks in dramatically, pauses your video and asks you a question-

What does it take to be an expert? Is it by one self’s opinion, or is it by the idea of others?

Now picture this, switching from YouTube to Instagram, finding a story with a sticker labeled with 'ask me anything' to frame an answer you cannot seem to decipher. And when you do find that story, you wait all day for a response because you can't appear to go on with your day without classifying yourself as a narcissist or a goblin dependent on others' opinions.

Then, after 2 hours and 26 minutes (and 32 seconds), you get a response-

''Neither. One is only an expert when loaded with experience''.

We often believe that for one to be an 'expert', he or she must have a prestigious Bachelor's Degree, along with a portable recorder filled with praises, quietly remarking you as a 'god' in which when put into a nutshell sounds wrong. Nor is being an 'expert' feeding your ego as if it were a loan shark robbing your essence every second, revealing a dark singularity behind our ambitions.

Albert Bandara, an American psychologist, held an experiment where a group of children, ranging from six to eight-year-olds and were terrified of dogs, watch a four-year-old play with dogs for 20 minutes a day, for four days. After the experiment, 67% of the children were now willing to enter the playpen with the dog.

You see, we are drawn to someone once they are entitled to the experience. The children didn't consider what others may say about the four-year-old, nor were they concerned about what he said to himself. Ultimately, experience precedes opinions.

Of course, we cannot narrowly conclude that this four-year-old is an expert in ''conquering fear'' or an expert to convince others to do the same. Still, we can say he has potential in doing so because the experience is the concrete foundation of every philosopher, every expert, and every specialist.

Because experience leads to group recognition, and in a society where societal acceptance is a critical factor in one's esteem, group recognition leads to self-acceptance and appreciation.

Now picture this, lying in bed, knowing that each and every one of us has the potential of becoming an expert because of how much we've overcome.

The independence of one's opinion, an experience we are all entitled to.