When you start out in a field, you might start with basic questions.
- What is this thing?
- How does it work?
- Why is it important?
- How does it relate to other things?
As you continue, your questions will evolve. You accumulate more information that allows you to ask different questions. The type of questions where someone might think you're an expert.
But...
I don't think experts know everything. They just ask the highest quality questions at any given time. Starting with basic questions and gradually making their way to more advanced questions over time.
That pursuit might seem paradoxical. Aren't you supposed to have answers? Aren't experts supposed to know everything?
No!
I believe "experts" pose questions that gets them information that will form a newer, higher quality question.
Questions that move their field forward. They pose questions that no one else knows how to ask.
That is why they are experts. They live at the edge.
I believe a lot of experts do this (consciously or not). But we can replicate this for ourselves by:
Writing important questions down.
Your mind will forget your questions. Write them out. And update them often. Stay with a question structure and see how far it can take you.
Run experiments. Reflect. Write out new questions, better questions.
It'll take you to the edge of knowledge every time.
Any question refined long enough will take you to the edge of knowledge.
So what question will you follow?