Davidson Reading Assignment

In the passage, the words “crowdsourcing” and “expertise” are most certainly important. Crowdsourcing is the main subject of the passage and it is heavily contrasted with expertise. The author here tells the reader about crowdsourcing and its benefits, using expertise as a contrast to which crowdsourcing is a better alternative. The author argues that working together is always the better alternative, and even experts improve and produce better results when working in a group.

This passage gives a summary of the concept of crowdsourcing, and discusses its benefits as opposed to expertise and the “hierarchies” taught by formal education. The author discusses what crowdsourcing does that is different from expertise, and why it is better. The author states, “crowdsourcing is suspicious of expertise, because the more expert we are, the more likely we are to be limited in what we even conceive to be the problem, let alone the answer” (Davidson 51). In this example, the author argues that expertise limits one’s view or conception of the problem at hand, and thus limit’s one’s ability to solve it. This implies that crowdsourcing gives a group a broader interpretation of the problem, thus opening up a greater number of possible solutions. While the group may not have one single expert, their collective mind is greater and they have a better chance of solving a problem than any single expert.

The passage gives an important example that supports the author’s main argument of the passage. Davidson is essentially arguing that the current education system is outdated, and that it needs to be improved to accommodate modern society. In this example, she shows how a new, modern form of problem solving – crowdsourcing – is more effective than the older, formal education form of problem solving – expertise. She then goes on following the passage with examples of crowdsourcing in practice, convincing the reader further of her point.