--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Expertise is not a parlor trick played…" description: "\"“Expertise is not a parlor trick played with factoids.”\" — Tom Nichols" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/tom-nichols-93464_expertise_expertise-is-not-a-parlor-trick-played-w_2630557.jpg" --- # Expertise is not a parlor trick played with factoids. ![“Expertise is not a parlor trick played with factoids.” quote by Tom Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/tom-nichols-93464_expertise_expertise-is-not-a-parlor-trick-played-w_2630557.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/tom-nichols-93464_expertise_expertise-is-not-a-parlor-trick-played-w_2630557.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/tom-nichols-93464_expertise_expertise-is-not-a-parlor-trick-played-w_2630557.jpg) > ““Expertise is not a parlor trick played with factoids.”” Tom Nichols ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expertise requires deep understanding, not superficial tricks with isolated facts. **In simple terms:** True expertise goes beyond tricks. Key Takeaway Cultivate deep knowledge. Themes expertise learning knowledge skill education Mood confident instructive analytical Type Expertise:1 Factoids:0 Expertise Parlor:0 Played Factoids:0 Trick Played:0 When to use this quote - training - teaching - professional development - research - analysis Key Concepts epistemology skill acquisition critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What distinguishes expertise from a trick? - How can you deepen your knowledge? A Different Perspective May underestimate the value of simple demonstrations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expertise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expertise/) ## Related quotes > [When you're an expert in a subject, you can retain new factoids on your favorite topic easily. This only works for the subjects you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/when-you-re-an-expert-in-a-subject-you-can-retain-new-factoids-on/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [“what more scoundrelly trick could you have played on us?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/what-more-scoundrelly-trick-could-you-have-played-on-us/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Suicide is no more than a trick played on the calendar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/suicide-is-no-more-than-a-trick-played-on-the-calendar/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“She burned hot enough to keep everyone away. It was a good trick, except I played with fire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher/she-burned-hot-enough-to-keep-everyone-away-it-was-a-good-trick/) [Tarryn Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher/) > [It's easy to pretend expertise when there's no data to contradict you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/it-s-easy-to-pretend-expertise-when-there-s-no-data-to-contradict-you/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [As the president of Kosovo, I am more concerned about the current situation with the employment standing at around 70 % of the population,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibrahim-rugova/as-the-president-of-kosovo-i-am-more-concerned-about-the-current/) [Ibrahim Rugova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibrahim-rugova/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Japan is already a leader in energy efficiency, and it has a wealth of innovative technologies. We must put this expertise to use creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoshihiko-noda/japan-is-already-a-leader-in-energy-efficiency-and-it-has-a-wealth-of/) [Yoshihiko Noda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoshihiko-noda/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [3 people get stranded on a remote Island A Banker, a Daily Mail reader & an Asylum seeker All they have to eat is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-brookmyre/3-people-get-stranded-on-a-remote-island-a-banker-a-daily-mail-reader/) [Christopher Brookmyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-brookmyre/) > [You basically have a group of four spies who are chosen for a mission they feel for the fact of how competent they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-leblanc/you-basically-have-a-group-of-four-spies-who-are-chosen-for-a-mission/) [Matt LeBlanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-leblanc/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [When you feel you have good although incomplete expertise, start trying things. If it's not working, try something else; maintain an experimental mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/when-you-feel-you-have-good-although-incomplete-expertise-start/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Education is a lifelong experience. Experience is a lifelong education. Education plus experience equals expertise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bugeja/education-is-a-lifelong-experience-experience-is-a-lifelong-education/) Michael Bugeja ## More by Tom Nichols > [“It is a new Declaration of Independence: No longer do we hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-nichols/it-is-a-new-declaration-of-independence-no-longer-do-we-hold-these/) Tom Nichols Explore all 2 Tom Nichols quotes ## More Expertise quotes > [Education is a lifelong experience. Experience is a lifelong education. Education plus experience equals expertise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bugeja/education-is-a-lifelong-experience-experience-is-a-lifelong-education/) Michael Bugeja > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [When you feel you have good although incomplete expertise, start trying things. If it's not working, try something else; maintain an experimental mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/when-you-feel-you-have-good-although-incomplete-expertise-start/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [You basically have a group of four spies who are chosen for a mission they feel for the fact of how competent they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-leblanc/you-basically-have-a-group-of-four-spies-who-are-chosen-for-a-mission/) [Matt LeBlanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-leblanc/) > [3 people get stranded on a remote Island A Banker, a Daily Mail reader & an Asylum seeker All they have to eat is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-brookmyre/3-people-get-stranded-on-a-remote-island-a-banker-a-daily-mail-reader/) [Christopher Brookmyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-brookmyre/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Japan is already a leader in energy efficiency, and it has a wealth of innovative technologies. We must put this expertise to use creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoshihiko-noda/japan-is-already-a-leader-in-energy-efficiency-and-it-has-a-wealth-of/) [Yoshihiko Noda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoshihiko-noda/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [As the president of Kosovo, I am more concerned about the current situation with the employment standing at around 70 % of the population,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibrahim-rugova/as-the-president-of-kosovo-i-am-more-concerned-about-the-current/) [Ibrahim Rugova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibrahim-rugova/) > [It's easy to pretend expertise when there's no data to contradict you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/it-s-easy-to-pretend-expertise-when-there-s-no-data-to-contradict-you/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Experts don't know exactly where the boundaries of their expertise are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/experts-don-t-know-exactly-where-the-boundaries-of-their-expertise-are/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Business leaders should provide expertise in service of our country. My predecessors at GE have done so, as have leaders of many other great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-immelt/business-leaders-should-provide-expertise-in-service-of-our-country/) [Jeffrey R. Immelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-immelt/) > [Astrophysicists perfected navigation. We perfected all these things that matter to the power of nations manifest on the world stage. So we want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/astrophysicists-perfected-navigation-we-perfected-all-these-things/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [There is no true expertise in the humanities without knowing all of the humanities. Art is a vast, ancient interconnected web-work, a fabricated tradition.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/there-is-no-true-expertise-in-the-humanities-without-knowing-all-of/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) [Browse all 396 Expertise quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expertise/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Expertise is not a parlor trick played with factoids.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Nichols" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-nichols/expertise-is-not-a-parlor-trick-played-with-factoids/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Expertise" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-nichols/expertise-is-not-a-parlor-trick-played-with-factoids/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/tom-nichols-93464_expertise_expertise-is-not-a-parlor-trick-played-w_2630557.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/tom-nichols-93464_expertise_expertise-is-not-a-parlor-trick-played-w_2630557.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/tom-nichols-93464_expertise_expertise-is-not-a-parlor-trick-played-w_2630557.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Expertise is not a parlor trick played with factoids.” — Tom Nichols", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tom Nichols", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-nichols/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Expertise is not a parlor trick...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-nichols/expertise-is-not-a-parlor-trick-played-with-factoids/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-nichols/expertise-is-not-a-parlor-trick-played-with-factoids/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```