When Expertise Leads Us Astray

Once we become adept at a certain trade, it's all too easy to mistake the boundaries of our expertise—seeing issues through the limited lens of our profession and losing sight of alternative solutions.

An accountant solves problems with a sterling eye for fiscal strategy, weighing the books—the give and take of profit and loss—to ensure success.

But it becomes a problem when people apply their expertise to an area where it does not belong to. A doctor will treat his patients with medicine even if there are other non-invasive solutions.

Staying in a profession long enough rewires our brain that pervades through our lives.