Of course there are cases where that is so. Fewer today than a hundred years ago, or ten thousand years ago.
True.
Specialists get more respect and make more money but they aren't having more fun.
Where is the respect coming from? Because they can do something few others can do?
Generalist. Specialist out of element=fucked.
*nods* Too narrow a field and you lose flexibility to adapt in change. Good point.
both are necissary, as kyuuei pointed out...
I can't be anything but a generalist (or as my mom calls me "a jack of all trades and master of none"
)... there's too many interesting things out there to try and learn some about!
I'm glad that some people have the ability to concentrate down into a specialization though- it makes the medical practices more precise (and more expensive
)
*nods* I share the sentiment with both of you.
Interesting, I was just about to post a thread with a similar theme.
Both are necessary, and we need a more balanced respect for both approaches. Sadly we've tipped the scales insanely in favor of the specialist - the point we have specialists who specialise in nothing.
I'm actually planning on writing something up relating to the scale being completely imbalanced in favor for specialists. Science is one. Research is great, but the knowledge never reaches far beyond people in the specific field. I wince every time I see people misuse research findings for their own purposes and the public eating it up. The second is in web design and development. The sentiments there is you ought to be in one or the other. But there's a niche market for generalists... people never acknowledge the factor though. That's why I started this topic to ask people's opinions and get more ideas.
As for me, Im a staunch generalist. As the old saying goes: "Jack of all trades, master of none, though often better than a master of one."
I did not realize there's more to the saying... heh! Thank you.
I've actually had this as a recurring topic in a lot of my thoughts for a while now. I think there are a lot of relations and connections to be made with this timeless topic. Off the top of my head is creativity and forward movement and progress in industries and careers.
*nods* That is the main problem I see for web design/dev. It's a field subjected to massive changes. I thought it ought to be sensible to have at least a basic understanding of the whole... It's all interconnected! But the community seems to disagree. Many of the designers are clueless when it comes to even HTML, let alone front-end dev. So you get projects from the dev team pass on to the design team to "pretty up". That's about all the interactions the two gets. :rolli:
What about specialization and generalization from youth?
I think you ought to at least try a little bit of everything to figure out what you want before you specialize. It makes very little sense for a youth to specialize right off the bat. Crippling your foundation really.
Do you think the trade offs vary based at what stage you decide to go in one direction or the other?
Well they do say the older you get, the less easily you can adapt to change. Being a generalist, you must adapt to change. So people tend to specialize as they get older...
Is there sort of a potentiating effect with each one. That is to say is it necessary to specialize in order to understand the worthwhile generations you can make or vice versa.
Not especially. People tend to forget that the difference between specialist vs generalist is only in whether people recognize the field as being "specialized" or not. A generalist can actually be doing a very "specific" job, it just doesn't have a name attached to it per se. In a company, the generalists will best serve as facilitators to coordinate the different teams of specialists.
Another example, 10 years or so back... Web design and development didn't even exist as a field. But with the start of the internet era, you get people with different backgrounds, often generalists taking up the new niche. Then suddenly overtime, it became a specialty. Do you see where I'm getting at? They're just names... both are equally important and will serve just as well without the labelling.
In terms of education what should the focus be on?
Do you think a country's education is at cause for developing individuals in one way or the other?
Education is whatever the individual needs right? But the current system does have a heavy emphasis on specializing. After all special schools for individual fields are easy enough to set up, a "generalist" school is a lot more difficult. About the only ones I can think of is in my knowledge is something like the integrated science program at my university. It's definitely a minority.
I'm mentally tired right now, and not feeling very articulate so sorry for the copout answer.
I think the questions are helpful in understanding the issue. Thanks!
Depends on what you are better suited for. A natural generalist will be a rather crappy specialist. However, you have to take into account that there are niches that for specialization require integration of a large number of subjects; moreover, unless your aim is to be come the most specialized of the world, if you're smart enough you may be able to become a specialist without sacrificing general knowledge.
Exactly what I was getting at. The distinction between the two blurs in a fast paced environment. The way the economy is going, the wider your skill set, the more likely you're to survive. I seriously think some specialists are screwing themselves not thinking about alternatives.
Okay... so it seems like everybody likes generalists. Funny I would have thought there'll be more disagreement.
Any specialists around that wants to list out reasons as to why they specialized?
