the specialized generalist

Hello intersectional thinkers 👋

Greetings from Tokyo! I was having a hard time writing a self-introduction, so:

1 unexpected intersection

What do you include in a self-introduction? And what do you leave out? 

Because, how a person chooses to describe themselves says a lot:  

• Leonardo da Vinci, disscepolo della sperientia aka disciple of experience

• Albert Einstein: I’m enough of an artist to draw freely on my imagination 

• Confucius: I decided to study at 15, and achieved success at 30. I was no longer confused by situations at 40, and knew what’s out of the control of mankind and should be left to take its own course by 50. At 60, I can welcome different opinions, and by 70, I can do as I please without breaking rules.

• Neri Oxman: I am at once—like many of my friends and colleagues—an architect, a woman, a Jew, a Melville aficionada, a birdwatcher, swimmer of the [Walden] Pond. I am all these things and combinations therein: more architect than Jew on odd days, more woman on even.

The descriptions themselves are telling.

But what’s arguably more fascinating is the contrast between their descriptions and our descriptions of them. 

• Leonardo da Vinci is a painter, sculptor, engineer, scientist, and polymath. 

• Einstein is a genius. 

• Confucius is a Eastern philosopher and sage. 

• Professor Oxman is an interdisciplinary designer at MIT Media Labs. 

Same people. But the internal expressions and the external descriptions convey two different messages.

While others try to neatly simplify and categorize us, we try to articulate why those categories can’t quite contain us. 

This tension is why so many of us struggle with crafting a personal monopoly. We try to simplify who we are using the external description template – I’m a [title] focusing on [subject] to solve [problem]. But internally, we are all over the place, in the most powerful, creative, expansive way possible. 

So why oversimplify?

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” - Einstein

1 paradox

The Specialized Generalist Paradox

The generalist specializes in making connections. 

If you see the similarity between human and canine, you are a generalist

While we’re trained to see the world as the sum of disciplines: politics, economics, psychology, math, art, education… we are forgetting the fundamental fact that the lines we draw are arbitrary. 

There is art in science. Science in art. Politics is present in fashion, and fashion in politics. We can’t separate behaviors from economics, just as we can’t talk about biology without chemistry. 

While specialists help advance domain-specific knowledge in each of the man-made fields, generalists specialize in interdisciplinary thinking so we can make sense of the world. 

So, are you a specialist or a generalist? 

1 visual Zettelkasten

This is more visual than zettel, but if you want to hone your connection spotting skills, try this exercise with Fei & me (starts at 41:03)

Have a great week!

Vicky