Therefore, in reading and considering the elements of expertise, understand that they represent fibers in the fabric of human activity. Like any fabric, the fibers of expertise can be woven together in an endless variety of patterns and styles. The excellence of experts is crafted in extensive knowledge and skills amassed over years of experience. This roughly translates to more than 10 years of intense preparation and practice. Many people actively engage in popular activities like golf and tennis, but never attain high performance levels.
Experts make a significant investment in learning all they can about their field.
This is because expert performances not only depend on how much experts know, but also how they employ a strategy that is best suited to their state of knowledge. Experts are both highly knowledgeable of a particular field and eminently skilled in the application of that knowledge. Hierarchical Organization of Knowledge To retain the vast amount of knowledge that experts accumulate in the course of their experience and practice, they store and organize this information in long-term memory as structured patterns. This internalized representation allows them to compare idealized performance standards with present events. Experts' knowledge is structured in sophisticated, complex ways that make it easy and economical to recall and apply.