Saved by Keely Adler
General Education Has a Bad Rap
Nothing can substitute for depth of analysis, and there's proven value in specialization – it's what education, career paths, scientific research, and technological innovation are built on – but generalism is a secret talent.
People who appreciate diversity, who are in the know about the wider world and who understand how things interact are invalua... See more
People who appreciate diversity, who are in the know about the wider world and who understand how things interact are invalua... See more
Steve Hardy • What Specifically Do Generalists Do?
The economist, philosopher, and writer Henry Hazlitt sums up the dilemma: In the modern world knowledge has been growing so fast and so enormously, in almost every field, that the probabilities are immensely against anybody, no matter how innately clever, being able to make a contribution in any one field unless he devotes all his time to it for ye... See more
Shane Parrish • The Generalized Specialist: How Shakespeare, Da Vinci, and Kepler Excelled
Mostly, though, students get what economist Bryan Caplan called narrow vocational training for jobs few of them will ever have. Three-quarters of American college graduates go on to a career unrelated to their major—a trend that includes math and science majors—after having become competent only with the tools of a single discipline.
David Epstein • Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
The push to focus early and narrowly extends well beyond sports. We are often taught that the more competitive and complicated the world gets, the more specialized we all must become (and the earlier we must start) to navigate it. Our best-known icons of success are elevated for their precocity and their head starts—Mozart at the keyboard, Facebook
... See more