Critical judgment of any work in any given field has little value unless it comes from someone who is an expert in the field.

Constructive criticism helps us to improve the quality of work in pretty much every field.  Whose judgment should be valued more? Many people think that critical judgment of any work in any given field has little value unless it comes from someone who is an expert in the field. I disagree with this argument. As we strive to improve the quality of our works,   critical judgment from any source, even from a layperson may be helpful, provided we keep an open mind, think for ourselves   and closely examine the validity of their judgment. Let me illustrate this with a few examples.

The field of medicine is rapidly changing in the current era. Umpteen research papers are published every day in journals. The medical students and residents do get some training to critically evaluate a journal article as part of their mandatory curriculum. This in turn helps them to judge a research paper, , despite not being experts in the field on the basis on the question the article tries to answer, the methodology of the study, the data presented and the conclusions reached by the authors.

Consider a person working on a novel.  He or she may show the initial drafts of his work to his close friends and benefactors. They may be able to offer critical comments, which in turn may or may not be used to modify the work based on the author’s discretion.  It’s very likely that a person who loves reading, despite not being the expert in literary criticism, will be able to give helpful suggestions which improve the readability of the novel. Their judgment in this scenario has true value.  Similar examples can be found in virtually any form arts. One does not need to be an expert guitarist or violinist to offer critical judgment on a piece of music developed by a budding composer.

There are times when people do not need to have any back ground at all on the topic or the product which is judged. An average consumer may not have an in depth idea about how a software or a computer works. But he or she would be able to point out the features he likes or dislike in a particular model, which in turn can be incorporated when the company comes up with its next version.

In summary, I believe that critical judgment  from experts are valuable, however constructive criticism and comments from any source may help us improve the quality of our work.