alt Hacker NewsShe has experience in the relevant areas.
It is quite common for experience in X itself to be quite different from the experience that is useful in dealing with X in some different context.
Most oncologists have no experience with actually having cancer themselves.
A majority of aircraft mechanics are not pilots.
Only a small percentage of referees in most major professional sports leagues have every played that sport professionally themselves.
Most patent lawyers are not inventors.
Replies
WalterBright • today at 4:00 AM
I have some patents, and I worked with patent lawyers to file them. The patent lawyers didn't understand diddly squat about my inventions. They knew how to fill out the required forms, though.
I worked for Boeing designing aircraft parts. I am not a pilot. I worked at the direction of my boss, who was a pilot. He was the gatekeeper of my work.
He'd also take me up flying, and would let me try the controls a bit. I trusted and valued his pilot's judgement.
Many other engineers at Boeing were also pilots. Friends of mine are pilots. My father was a combat pilot in two wars.
Airplane mechanics have very little decision making power. They go strictly by the book. I worked on writing instructions for the mechanics who would be maintaining and checking my gearbox design. It went into excruciating detail.
I would wager that the better mechanics were ones who were pilots, as they'd know in their bones how important their job was.