It occurs to me that there are a lot of times that views are epressed an oppinions offered by people we frequently look to as experts in their fields. Be it the wearing of the kilt, or the mowing of the lawn when we need advice ( or sometimes when we don't ) it comes from someone who we either believe to be an expert in the area we are curious about, or that through often eloquent speech leads us to believe they are. Here is a link to an interesting article on the topic and one that got me to thinking about just what is it we look for when looking for an expert? What do we need as qualifiers to a persons expertise? And under what criteria do we lend our trust in these people?

http://digital.timescolonist.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

Personally if I am looking for advice in a particular field I want to see some kind of credential and a good amount of experience in that field before I seriously consider their information. If I'm searching for an expert skill set then I want to see some kind of portfolio showing that the persons work is of the quality I'm looking for and that through such I feel I can trust thier ability to lend good solid advice.

So what is it do the rest of you think is important when going after expert advice? What do you look for to lend credibility to the person issuing that advice?

Cheers