An Expert On Nothing

I went to Petland today to get some more goodies to start our fish tank. Knowing very little about fish and aquariums, I was asking the Petland associate a ton of different questions. With every question I threw at him, not only was he able to give me the answer in terms I could understand, but he elaborated on many points and gave me new ideas to think about.

As I left the store, I reflected on the situation and the thought came to mind that this young man was an expert on fish and aquariums. I assumed he would be able to talk for a considerable amount of time on the subject. That lead me to wonder about what am I an expert on and on what subject could I speak about for any great length of time. I'm not sure if this means I am a shallow person, but the first subject that came to mind was celebrities. At any given moment, I can tell you who's dating who (Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell; Drew Barrymore and the 'Mac' guy Justin Long); who made a major fashion faux pas at the most recent awards show (Sandra Oh at the SAG awards...yeesh!); who's movie is bombing at the box office (Jessica Alba's "The Eye"); who's expecting a baby (Jennifer Lopez, Halle Berry, Gwen Stefani); who's rumoured to be pregnant (Angelina); who's in rehab (Eva Mendes) etc. And then I realized how sad (yet strangely impressive) it is that I know so much about the world of celebs. And then I actually struggled to find something else that I could talk about "expertly".

There are many things that I like to talk about, but I will be the first to admit I don't know everything about everything - but I do know a little bit about lots of things. At the very least, I have an opinion on them. And I love to learn, so I am more than okay to sit back and listen to someone else share their ideas. But even as I'm typing this, I am still struggling to come up with a topic that I feel I am an "expert" on...that is, something that I know more about than anyone else around me. After a few minutes pause, it dawned on me that I could talk about teaching and how to help someone learn how to read or how to learn to multiply. There we go. I feel better. Geez, it's lucky I work this week. Otherwise, my brain cells may have fallen completely dormant.

So, is there any one topic that you feel you are on expert on and could talk about endlessly? Is it more embarrassing than celebrities? :)