Word-Of-the-Week #965: Ultracrepidarianism
February 2, 2023 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #965: Ultracrepidarianism
Ultracrepidarianism – the habit of giving opinions and advice on matters outside of one’s knowledge or competence.
Are you like me and never heard this word before? Do you know anyone who has expressed an opinion outside the scope of their knowledge or expertise?
This week features excerpts from “The era of the ultracrepidarian” by Daily Journal writer Leo Morris.
“It pains me to confess this, but I am an ultracrepidarian. You might not want to hear it, but there’s a good chance you are one as well.
The word describes people who “express opinions on matters outside the scope of their knowledge or expertise.”
It comes from the Latin for “beyond the sandal or shoe,” adapted from the longer “‘the cobbler should not judge beyond his shoe.” That, according to Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, is what the painter Apelles of Kos replied to criticism from a shoemaker, who had been asked to critique the footwear detailed in a painting, then proceeded to also offer his evaluation of everything else about it.
Once you know to look for ultracrepidarians, you can find them everywhere in our public conversation.
There is the sports columnist who thinks we are also entitled to his political wisdom. The religious leader who presumes to lecture us about economics. The actress who feels qualified to warn us about the dangers of vaccinations. The barely pubescent pop star who dispenses relationship advice. The Twitter blowhard who sneers at everything with absolute certainty.
I’m adept at spotting them because, as I hinted, “It takes one to know one.”
Leo Morris
I spent the vast majority of my working life as an editorial page editor, which allowed me to express authoritative pronouncements on any and all complicated issues that appeared in the news sections. And yet I was an expert in absolutely nothing, except the art of expressing authoritative announcements.
In other words, as I’ve said often over the years, I got paid good money for shooting my mouth off. And the best part was that I didn’t even have to be right.
So let me offer this one piece of advice in the one area I have some competence in: Don’t assume anything about an opinion you hear. It doesn’t have to be right. It doesn’t have to be wrong. Don’t treat it as anything other than what it is, an assertion that should stand or fall based on your best analysis of all the available evidence.”
This week’s focus is ultracrepidarianism. Do you assume anything about an opinion you hear? Do you know anyone who continually dispenses advice that you know is simply not true?
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