[Taylor]

As a newcomer to CD, I view rep subjectively, and I cross-reference it with longetivity of the user. If I'm looking at opinions or ideas, I ignore the rep - good or bad - because often the best ideas come from those that are not mired in the intricacies of the problem. If I'm looking at technical support or testimonials, however, I'll look more closely at, and value higher, the users with lots of experience and rep.
Which begs the question:
Does reputation and, similarly, CD experience truly make one person smarter, more educated, more experienced, more refined, and more worldly than a (to use the vernacular of today's youth) n00b?
As a user with ~70 posts, minimal experience, and one green dot (or jpeg), I hope not.