An autonomous expert doesn't need you to validate them. They have their knowledge and their work, and that's all they require. They're an expert whether you know it or agree with it or not. An attributed expert, on the other hand, needs to be recognized by someone for their expertise. They have to be persuasive and they have to be able to communicate what they know.

These two aren't mutually exclusive. They overlap. And in this post, we take a look at the nature of autonomous and attributed expertise, and how each effects our decision making.