№ 482. Working from Home: Generalists

Brain Pickings

Here an old insight.

My college ed. was steeped in general core subjects on a wide variety of disciplines --- math, science, social sciences, management and other thinking courses like philosophy and theology.

It seems that the debate about specialization and generalization is still alive.




"Because generalists have a set of tools to draw from, they are able to dynamically adjust their course of action as a situation evolves. Just think of how rapidly the world changed with the development of the Internet and wireless data technologies. Jeff Bezos was not a retail specialist who took on his competitors and won. He was a relative newcomer to retail but was able to adapt rapidly to seize a gigantic opportunity.

The one certainty about the future is that it will be uncertain. The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and technological innovation have commoditized information. The skill of generating dots is losing value. The key skill of the future is, well, not quite a skill; it’s an approach, a philosophy, and way of thinking — and it’s critical you adopt it as soon as you’re able."