On experts

A little knowledge, they say, is a dangerous thing. Many experts, in many fields, use this as a put down to "amateurs" in the field (in our case, the medical/mental health community and their opinions of parents "meddling" in mainstream autism research and treatment).

But you can also say that a lot of knowledge, too much knowledge in a single area, is dangerous as well. Maybe more so. By knowing (or thinking you know) everything there is to know, you can too easily forget about the effects and impacts of what you do on the world outside your narrow point of view. If all you know, for instance, is that autism is caused solely by genetics and that nothing should be done to cure it because it is not something that can be cured, you are missing out on the big picture. (Obviously, it works the other way as well.)

Ginger has some thoughts on experts that prompted me to post this, though I have to admit the general theme of the post is "borrowed" from a monologue in the HBO movie "The Girl in the Cafe."