> Ever notice that great developments in a field generally > happen right after an "expert" in the field claims that > further developments are impossible?

Actually, I'd dispute that claim. It may *seem* that way, but it's more than likely just a heuristic. For example, it may seem like it always rains after you wash your car, but that's because you are not as likely to make a note when it rains and you haven't just washed your car. I don't know of any serious experts in a field who would make such a claim in the first place.

To be an extreme devil's advocate, I don't think that you are neccesarily likely to say/do something stupid just when you think you know it all. Sure, cockiness can lead to errors, but that does not change you level of knowledge on a subject. All that said, few experts would claim to "know everything".

</DEVIL's_ADVOCATE>

I strive for not the Beginner's Mind, but the Empty Mind.

To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.
Tao Te Ching

The day that we stop learning is the day that we die. So many people are not happy with their jobs, are not challenged in their daily tasks, do not have the wonderful feeling of Figuring Something Out, and still continue to work where they do. They are the opposite of the self-proclaimed Expert: both have stopped learning, one because she has told herself that there is nothing further to learn, and the other one has surpressed his desire to learn, and thus, to live. Live your life in the middle: constantly learning, seeking out new experiences, while realizing that in the grand scheme of things, you will have learned almost nothing. Yet walking around the entire world and ending up in your own backyard may not take you far, but what a trip that would be!