Experts fascinate. From physicians able to diagnose an illness instantly to musicians
eliciting deep emotions with a few notes, experts convey an aura of magic. Our social
and legal systems rely heavily on experts. The government and industry, both in
Europe and elsewhere, increasingly depend on the knowledge and advice provided by
experts. At the same time, many members of society appear increasingly prone to
anxieties about the reliability of expertise — experts, after all, do sometimes
make mistakes.
How do people become experts? In order to answer this question fully, we need to understand expertise on a number of levels ranging from the neural level
to the psychological level and the social level. Furthermore, to understand the
impact of expert knowledge on society we need to understand its definition, its
transmission and its formalisation. This book addresses these issues from a range
of perspectives and disciplines, including psychology, neuroscience, sociology,
education, law and artificial intelligence.
Content
1 Introduction
2 Perception and Categorisation
3 Memory
4 Problem Solving
5 Decision Making
6 Intuition, Insight and Creativity
7 Talent, Individual Differences and Gender Differences
8 Learning and Education
9 Development and Ageing
10 Neuroexpertise
11 Experts and Society
12 Sociology
13 Philosophy
14 Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems
15 Putting It All Together
