Review: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 Range-Why Generalists Triumph In a Specialized World is a book that questions the very foundations of specialization. As a society, we are obsessed with the specialization of skills. Our world is still living on the foundations of the Industrial model, and it has become outdated long ago. But, unfortunately, we are unable to get rid of the cult of specialization because of the thinking that why be a generalist when you can be a purist? And, this distorted thinking is costing us a lot.

Take the very recent global recession that happened in 2008. One of the main reasons could be attributed to the silos within the finance industry. And this kind of silos emerge within and across the industries only when there is no cross-communication between the different departments or the industries. This could be because of the stress on the hyperspecialization of the workforce. Cross-functional thinking did not happen because of which trillions of dollars eroded from the global economy. This is something which could have been very much avoided only if the policymakers had encouraged the idea of perspective taking in education which only comes by adopting a generalist approach.

The book questions the basic tenets of the specialization. For example, take the very famous ten thousand hour rule. if you want to be a world class in only one area, yes, the famed 10,000-hour rule certainly helps. But, what if you want to develop multiple talents? There comes the dilemma. Take Mozart or Beethoven for example. They breathed and lived music for the rest of their lives. In this case, the so-called deliberate practice certainly helps. But what if you want to be a Renaissance Man like Leonardo Da Vinci or Benjamin Franklin or Herbert Simon? By the time you apply the 10,000-hour rule to develop a wide repertoire of skills, you will be dead! (Just kidding).We need a much more sophisticated theory to explain the phenomenon of Renaissance Man.

In today’s volatile world of technological change, it is only taking the generalist approach towards having a repertoire of skills that will be able to save us. One should be like a swiss knife (if at all that metaphor helps!) Yes, I know that our society is rife with proverbs such as ‘jack of all trades and master of none’, and ‘if you try to catch two hares, you will end up catching neither’. But, those proverbs should not encourage us to take the narrow path in any way. To negate those proverbs, Winston Churchill also said, “Never, never, never give in, except to the convictions of honor and sense”.And that translates to Winners never quit and quitters never win is a fallacy. The book is beautifully explained by Seth Godin in the book The Dip. What the author advocates is a T model of learning instead of the I model of learning. Going wide in so many areas of knowledge, and having great depth in one particular chosen field so that you would be able to contribute to your field aided by the perspectives from the knowledge of different subjects.

The author introduces the reader to the concept of SAMPLING PERIOD. The sampling period is a phase where a child experiments with different pursuits to know which suits best for him/her so that the little experience that he\she has gained in those different field helps him\her later when she focuses on a field or a wide range of fields to prove her mettle. To corroborate this fact, the famous tennis player Roger Federer, Charles Darwin, and Vincent Van Gogh have gone through the same phase. The case of Vincent Van Gogh was particularly striking. He tried his hand at painting when he was a child. He didn’t like it. Later on, he tried his hand at various pursuits such as being a librarian, pastor, music teacher, and miscellaneous others. Later on, at 33 when he wanted to be a painter again, the perspectives he has gained from various pursuits helped him to come up with world-class paintings. In a brief period of 4 years, he totally redefined the art with his paintings. It is a great misfortune that he died at the age of 37. But his legacy will endure for generations. And, that’s the power of having a generalist approach.

The point of the generalist approach makes sense to me. Because we live more in WICKED environments than in KIND environments(There is nothing wicked or kind about these terms). Kind environments are stable environments. Take sports such as chess or surgery, where the ecosystem is fairly predictable and remain constant. But wicked environments are way different. What about environments such as gambling, war or stock markets. They are very unstable and unpredictable. In the latter case, the previous experience that one has gained doesn't help much. Because every challenge is something that we have not encountered before. And life is way more wicked than kind. That’s why we rather pull up our socks towards being a generalist.

‘Chose early, focus narrowly and never waver’ approach is not going to help us anymore. I have you given enough facts. Now the ball is in your court to decide whether to be a generalist or a specialist. Because generalists will triumph in a specialized world.

Signing off for now.

Thank you.





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