SOME CLARIFICATION – A PARTIAL SATIRICAL STORY

Before I begin the next part on my evaluation of higher education (Also related to the fact that I am temporarily locked out of my Arizona State University account), I want to answer a question forwarded to me.
“Hey Expert, are you really an expert in anything?”
Unfortunately, I can not give a definitive answer to this question. In my life, I have discovered that on quite a few topics (Let’s say 50), I can hold a basic conversation as long as the details remain at a basic level. For instance, if we are talking about cars, I know they run on four wheels and move forward when I switch the transmission to D. There are car brands like Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Ford, Toyota…ummm…Mazda, Nissin which I think also owns a ramen company, and something called Hun-Day. I know that a flux capacitor is necessary for the battery to operate, or the car won’t move. There are also the pointy metal “thingys” that show up after you remove a tire and circular metal device from the tire. As you can see, I know quite a bit about cars to have a decent conversation about them over a beer. I have learned a few things about guns. Mostly from the safety perspective (Thank you California). I know more about the paperwork required to transfer gun ownership than I do about bullet calibers. Because when it comes to defending yourself, it is important to know where my signature is needed on a piece of paper when my daughter inherits my weapons after I get shot and killed trying to figure out the state’s laws. On about 20 topics, my knowledge is at a higher level than the average person. I can write or blog about these topics when researched. Two new additions to this category are travel and energy (More on this later). I will not pose as an expert on these topics but can dive into complex details and even take risks if it relates to an issue like investing. Because as the financial overlords always say, metal never goes down (Except it has consistently over the past ten years), real estate never goes down (Except in 2008), and stocks always trend up (Except when they don’t). So how could I be any worse than these supposed “experts” who paid a 100,000 dollars for a Finance Master’s Degree where they are always right? Except when they are not!
 
When I got my Master’s Degree last year, I undertook testing at Arizona State University on a diverse range of topics. If I passed a specific topic (And got my proper six to twelve months of being a teacher’s assistant) and qualified, I could create a curriculum and teach these subjects to students. So here is my delayed answer to this question. I am an actual EXPERT on a few things. I am the EXPERT OF SOME. Again, here is the list.

AMERICAN POLITICS
ARTS AND MEDIA ENGINEERING
COMMUNICATION PHILOSOPHY AND TECHNOLOGY
CREATIVE NON-FICTION WRITING
CULTURAL STUDIES AND TECHNOLOGY
DEMOCRATIC AND POLITICAL THEORY
DIGITAL MEDIA
FILM STUDIES
MEDIA AND NEW MEDIA STUDIES
SPORTS
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
VIDEO PRODUCTION
WAR AND SOCIETY

That is right. My knowledge on these thirteen topics is at a level that God forbid, I can teach these subjects to people.

What is missing here? Music for one. I thought my overall deep knowledge of this topic would qualify me as an old clarinetist and saxophonist during my high school and college years. Apparently, I arpeggio’ed where I should have staccato’ed and did not qualify to teach it. I never believed I was more than an average musician. This test proved my theory once and for all. So why do I bring all this up?

I like to send emails to my friends, acquaintances, ex-lovers, co-workers, the man who lives under the bridge near me, etc. I will read or observe something that I feel needs to be forwarded along. Do I expect you to watch, read, or listen to it? Absolutely not. But if I decide to send it to you, the main reason is because intellectually, I believe it is something that would interest you or maybe even expand your mind. I sometimes will focus on these topics listed as my “expertises” above because I do have strong opinions on all these topics and spend many hours a week reading and researching them. So even if you don’t agree with my point of view, these forwarded topics are coming to you with a great deal of knowledge attached to them. Sometimes, I am not even sure if a topic is true. But the article is so fascinating, I think it is worth opining over or having a bizarre discussion about. I feel my clarity on this needs to be emphasized again. Because there are individuals who mistakenly believe that if a topic is sent to them, then the words inside the article stand for my beliefs. This is not true. l sometimes write with strong emotions and passion. But it will be prefaced with words like, “If this is true”, or “Let’s hope this does not happen.” I will give strong opinions on people like Dick Cheney. Because I think he has a secret cave somewhere in Wyoming with imprisoned children that he likely eats once a month to keep his heart beating for another 30 days. My tone maybe confusing but as a person with strong journalistic instincts, my only motivation is to inform. You can make your own judgments on what I send and that is fine. I am just trying to share my own intellectual curiosity with as many people as possible. So let’s do a test.

The last two days, Tucker Carlson has opened his show with a monologue on the "coming" energy crisis. There are divergent opinions on whether there actually is a crisis. This is not my point for sending it. The information he provides in both these monologues is fascinating. As a person who is beginning to rebel against the green energy transition (I am a person that understands the electric grid on a pretty complex level and would like for these "climate change" activists to answer a few basic questions about this), I am having my doubts on whether these initiatives will ever work. Don't let my cynicism make you think there is no problem. We have energy problems that need to be resolved. Personally, I think our concern should be on pollution, not 'climate change.' Let me know what you think. Just want you to think outside the box.