Description

‘Roger Kneebone is a legend’ Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters

‘Fascinating and inspiring’ Financial Times

‘The pandemic has made the necessity of relying on experts evident to all . . . this is a rich exploration of lifelong learning’ Guardian

What could a lacemaker have in common with vascular surgeons? A Savile Row tailor with molecular scientists? A fighter pilot with jazz musicians? At first glance, very little. But Roger Kneebone is the expert on experts, having spent a lifetime finding the connections.

In Expert, he combines his own experiences as a doctor with insights from extraordinary people and cutting-edge research to map out the path we’re all following – from ‘doing time’ as an Apprentice, to developing your ‘voice’ and taking on responsibility as a Journeyman, to finally becoming a Master and passing on your skills. As Kneebone shows, although each outcome is different, the journey is always the same.

Whether you’re developing a new career, studying a language, learning a musical instrument or simply becoming the person you want to be, this ground-breaking book reveals the path to mastery.

Publisher Review

Roger Kneebone is a legend -- Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters Fascinating and inspiring * Financial Times * The doctor stitching together medicine and art -- Guardian Examines the ubiquitous, but understudied, process of becoming an expert -- Richard Webb * New Scientist * Roger Kneebone has an insatiable desire to understand what makes people tick and for years has scratched this itch by bringing together countless interesting people to share their experience and knowledge. This book on experts is a wonderful manifestation of what he has learnt. If you want to do anything better, from surgery to embroidery, you can learn something from this book -- Christopher Peters FRCS, Clinical Senior Lecturer and Consultant Upper GI and General Surgeon, Imperial College London Roger Kneebone describes a journey that has no short cuts and no end. He tracks the inside story of becoming an expert, documenting a time line that stretches from the state of knowing nothing to passing on the wisdom of a lifetime. He draws out common themes between his experiences as a medical student, surgeon, GP, educator, academic, harpsichord player and sometime juggler with those of men and women working creatively in design studios, workshops and performance spaces, all of them now experts in their own fields. His refutation of the view that experts are an irrelevant, 'useless elite' is compelling and chilling in equal measure. Whisper it quietly, but post COVID-19, there is a growing realisation that experts do matter. I wish this book had been available when I was a student - it is full of wisdom, insight, humanity and encouragement. We should all aim to cross the 'ha-ha' -- Susan Standring, Emeritus Professor of Anatomy, King's College London Roger Kneebone is our foremost expert on expertise. Expert is a desperately important book at a moment when we've begun to wonder just what we might still be good at -- Ken Arnold, Head of Public Programmes at Wellcome Collection In a world awash with knowledge, we are in danger of forgetting what it means to be wise. Where knowledge arms us against the onslaughts of the world, wisdom disarms. It takes the risk opening up, to listen and attend, not presuming we already know. Wisdom puts others before ourselves. In this superbly written, passionately argued and very necessary book, Roger Kneebone contends that wisdom, more than knowledge, is the mark of the expert. In whatever vocation, as he shows us, becoming expert is a never-ending, lifelong task. But anyone can commit to it. Those who do should be an example to us all -- Tim Ingold, University of Aberdeen My time spent studying and working in Japan has left me with a deep appreciation for the importance of skill and the mystery of its acquisition. How do we navigate that path from knowing nothing to being able to pass on precious knowledge and experience to the next generation? Roger Kneebone is a supremely thoughtful and sensitive companion on that journey. -- Rebecca Salter RA, President of Royal Academy of Arts Vividly practical -- Andrew Robinson * Nature *