Surpassing Ourselves: An Inquiry into the Nature and Implications of Expertise

Carl Bereiter and Marlene Scardamalia

Expertise is a process of progressive problem-solving in which people continuously rethink and redefine their tasks. A future 'expert society' will not be a heaven in which all problems have disappeared, but a realistic utopia in which endless problem-solving will be a highly-valued part of life.

Progressive problem solvers stay healthier, live longer, and experience the intense mental pleasure known as 'flow'. They repeatedly go beyond their well-learned procedures, avoid getting into ruts, and surpass themselves by reformulating problems at new and more complex levels. They are able to transform insoluble predicaments into soluble problems, to the benefit of everyone. Yet many of our present institutions, especially schools, penalize expertise instead of cultivating it.