Authority Blind Spots

When people have an area in which they are not comfortable, or feel like it's out of their realm of understanding, they tend to attribute authority to anyone who can answer a question about that area.

When I build websites for people, they inevitably ask me about their computer problems.

At work, when I suggest or implement a software, I become the de facto programmer, responsible for all challenges anyone has on their phone, where the app is installed.

I think of this as the theory of authority in areas of ignorance. Needs a better name.

The theory is that if I have an area of ignorance, and am looking for answers in that area, I can not know how many sub-areas there are, so anyone with knowledge in any sub-area gets an outsized level of authority.

My areas of ignorance: electricity; accounting; sales. I tend to ask very specific questions of people in these areas, not realizing they see their own area as a much smaller sub-area, not related to my question.