Interesting topic. I have always struggled with the society concept of being a specialist on something: choosing one career and try to excel at it, choosing one hobby and trying to excel at it, studying one topic and trying to excel at it and the list goes on... In my life I feel I have evolved and changed during the years so many times, therefore having just one thing, one specialism in any field has been impossible for me and against my nature. I think in the world we need a bit of both.... there are some matters in which you would rely on someone that is a specialist about it and others where you need a generalist. If we talk about the way we think I believe humans should be able to realize when we need to be specialist in observing something or when we need to consider multiple aspects of that specific situation and have a 360 degree view. Does our brain have capacity for the that, can our brain be used in both ways? Mostly, do we have the courage to be generalist and accept that are different shades of something and not a unique answer but maybe many? There is definitely a bigger element of uncertainty in being a generalist so for some might be uncomfortable as you have different areas and different potential outcomes to consider. Being a generalist also means feeding our curiosity, exploring new things, seeing things from different point of views... does society really wants us to unleash that freedom? Or maybe it just wants us to focus on our specialism, getting busy with it while we try at all cost to excel at it... lots of thoughts and reflection there!
I love this.. completely agree .. does society want us to be generalist? You’re right it does take courage to be one .. our brain can be used as both generalist and specialist, in effect it’s exactly what is promoted by having a growth mindset. The ability to be curious, open to difference and a love of learning new things. Maybe we can start a movement of being “The Generalists” and be competent across a whole range of topics that can enhance our lives.
Interesting topic. I have always struggled with the society concept of being a specialist on something: choosing one career and try to excel at it, choosing one hobby and trying to excel at it, studying one topic and trying to excel at it and the list goes on... In my life I feel I have evolved and changed during the years so many times, therefore having just one thing, one specialism in any field has been impossible for me and against my nature. I think in the world we need a bit of both.... there are some matters in which you would rely on someone that is a specialist about it and others where you need a generalist. If we talk about the way we think I believe humans should be able to realize when we need to be specialist in observing something or when we need to consider multiple aspects of that specific situation and have a 360 degree view. Does our brain have capacity for the that, can our brain be used in both ways? Mostly, do we have the courage to be generalist and accept that are different shades of something and not a unique answer but maybe many? There is definitely a bigger element of uncertainty in being a generalist so for some might be uncomfortable as you have different areas and different potential outcomes to consider. Being a generalist also means feeding our curiosity, exploring new things, seeing things from different point of views... does society really wants us to unleash that freedom? Or maybe it just wants us to focus on our specialism, getting busy with it while we try at all cost to excel at it... lots of thoughts and reflection there!
I love this.. completely agree .. does society want us to be generalist? You’re right it does take courage to be one .. our brain can be used as both generalist and specialist, in effect it’s exactly what is promoted by having a growth mindset. The ability to be curious, open to difference and a love of learning new things. Maybe we can start a movement of being “The Generalists” and be competent across a whole range of topics that can enhance our lives.