Hi Harold, my filters just alerted me to this great exchange. I absolutely agree that “We cannot master all the knowledge needed for our work.” Now, doesn’t that imply that someone else has mastered knowledge we need? And in return, aren’t we responsible for mastering something others won’t know? To the extent that mastery requires not only specialization but focus, does stewardship sometimes get mislabeled as hoarding? I think we know more together when we know different things separately—and then share.

Paul, an expert may appear reluctant to share if he/she gives short answers rather than wanting to burden the asker with extraneous information they won’t understand. That isn’t necessarily anti-social, is it? (By the way, a related reason why some people don’t always share is worry that a non-expert will misuse the knowledge because they lack the context and contingencies.)