Why does a retired computer scientist know more about plumbing than the professionals?

[Willemjm]

Then there is the cabinet guy, who has been designing kitchens and bathrooms for 20 years.

First time he saw my own self built kitchen, he could not identify the clear coated lumber as Cherry.

Then the supplier sent stained Alder plywood to wrap a kitchen island and the customer asked him why the wood grain from one panel is not exactly the same to the next panel. His reply, "This is laminate, they should have matched the panels properly." After telling him, this is not laminate, it is veneer core plywood and nature decides the grain pattern from one sheet to the next, he still wanted to argue and called the supplier. Obviously they told him the same thing. When I tried to explain to him the difference between laminate, veneer core plywood, MDF core plywood and combination core plywood, he got frustrated and just walked off.

So I think most folks just live in their own little world of comfort and that constitutes just enough knowledge to get by.

That is probably why most people hate Engineers.

 

[JimD]

I think one of the worst things about our current society is the ability of people to shout incorrect things loudly and often and be see as truthful. Or just to be in a position of power and label their opinion as "truth". Facebook and Twitter using journalists as "fact checkers" who cancel the opinions of licensed doctors, for instance. It should be obvious that a journalist is not in a position to challenge a position taken by a doctor. A customer challenging a cabinet builder over material is another example. You hired the person, you thus know they know more than you. Why are you challenging them? It happens all the time.

But a contributing factor is when an "expert" does something stupid like use the incorrect materials for a tub fill. Who do we trust? I do not see an alternative to double checking things myself. Unless I know the source and know they are working within their area of expertise, I try and check.