ABS Audio Newsletter: Tips for Identifying Experts

Issue 46: How do we differentiate an expert from a non-expert?

ISSUE 46: Tools for discerning expertise

Welcome to the 46th issue of the ABS Audio Newsletter. Today we are going to discuss a very important skill to acquire and develop. That is the ability to discern the expertise of an individual, coach, influencer, etc. This can be applied across the spectrum but for our purposes we will focus in the realm of nutrition and fitness.

There are many examples of charlatans in this fitness and nutrition space. Some of which even have highly prestigious educations in varying disciplines. On occasion, there may even be debates between 2 opposing “experts” on a topic both of which have more knowledge than the viewers. That’s where the big challenge lies. People struggle to discern which expert is more knowledgeable on the subject matter when both are more knowledgeable than them. So, what can we do to better our judgment?

Criteria to watch out for:

• look for formal education (especially in the specific field of the topic of discussion)

• language used when discussing topics (degree of certainty)

• hyper-fixation on one nutrient/exercise vs. nuanced position

• staying specifically on topic vs changing the conversation

• if citations are given, take the time to actually read them to see if the study actually supports (or even is designed to test) the specific claim being made

• speaking holistically with qualified context vs. fearmongering a specific problem whilst just happening to sell the solution

• use of logical fallacies

The outline of our conversation:

1. General intro.

2. Overview

3. Criteria to keep in mind

4. Acknowledging biases and approaching discussions with healthy skepticism

5. My takeaways and motivational sendoff!

I greatly appreciate your viewership; catch you all in the comments. Stay tuned for the 47th issue next week!

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