EXPERT: YOU KNOW AN EXPERT WHEN YOU SEE ONE

The expert here is Yo-Yo Ma. I know he’s an expert because of reputation.

A great musician, though I don’t know his top ten, or any other work he’s done. It could be any cellist, but there’s something about this one.

Have you wondered where experts come from? Me, too.

Yo is a case of practice. He may not be perfect, but he still practices like he’ll get there. He’s the perfect cellist, and only one, I can name.

In other words, I trust word of mouth to believe that Yo-Yo Ma is the best at what he does in generations past, and generations to come. I’m all in. Between Yo and Pablo Casals, they’ve got it covered.

Yo-Yo settled on the cello after trying the piano, violin, and viola. He was four years old and off to the races.

The prodigy added degrees in music from Julliard and Harvard for added burnishing. What did his teachers think with this guy in the room?

He took something at an early age and trained his mind and body to remember and play; to practice, practice, practice.

That’s what experts do, they remember things and apply what they remember in new ways, better ways, the sort of ways that make you wonder why no one else had done it before.

Surrounded by experts

This chainsaw sculptor is an expert, no two ways about it. Look at any chainsaw work and you’ll see the vision, how the natural flow in wood supports the pose.

These guys have more than a small touch of Michelangelo.

I’d even add a dash of Rodin. There’s something about artists who see the object they want to create when they look at raw material.

“I see my statue in the wood, I just have to remove the extra material.”

Then they practice to gain experience and knowledge.

Expert Public Health Pitch

What if this guy stood before the national press and said, “Hey Girl, it’s cool that you care about public health. Ask me anything public health-wise, I mean anything. I do. Hey girl, just ask about coronavirus. I want you to. I’m ready.”

Call it the Gosling-Effect. He would swoon the room, confuse the audience with his warm glow of sincerity, and begin laying out a plan he’d just heard from his spiritual advisor and private paster on the way to the microphone.

“Easter. We start ending the social distance war on Easter with packed churches,” he could say.

Or Let Experts Show What They’ve Got

I see President Gosling stepping aside to make room for the people who’ve made a life by creating models and visuals to explain what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen.

President Gosling: That was a beautiful presentation. Only you, and you, and you, could have made this happen. Thank you to all. You’ve done your nation proud. Now, let’s hear from our helpers, the folks with answers to our most pressing questions.”

A small panel of appropriately distanced experts chime in with what would have worked in the past, what is working now, and what needs to happen to avoid a dire future of impending doom and dread.

Thank you for reading, now go wash your hands.