Comment on: Are we too specialized (professionally, ideologically, culturally)?

Bigthink — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 11:11:54 +0100

I believe an over zealous approach to specialization reduces the number of creative possibilities available to communities. The fluidity of human character flourishes in a sphere of free expansion.

When young people are trained for specific skill sets, they often become deprived of a wider lens through which to see the world, and sometimes they lose their awareness of latent desires they might have outside their specific skill box. The "Jack (or Jill)-of-all-trades" is fast becoming as rare as a butter churn. When one is too specialized dependency grows. You need other specialists to solve problems you can't solve on your own.

In the professional world, an over emphasis on specialization tends to raise the value of licenses or other proofs of your mastery of a specific subject. This narrows the opportunity for thinkers outside the box from entering different vocations. So many people have natural talent, but that is under-utilized by a society that places too high a value on specialized degrees, licenses, and other academic credientials.

There are many natural teachers, for instance, that can't afford to pay what it costs to get the advanced degree they would need to be an "official" teacher. You will find them teaching anyway, in volunteeer positions or with youth groups. These people can be butchers or engineers or poets, but they have a desire to crossover into areas determined by their natural talent. What they do on a secondary level is often reduced to a hobby. If it is not the special skill that earns them the most money, it isn't given equal value.

Specialization goes hand in hand with proven credientials. The more value put on this, the most costly it becomes, and the more narrow area of learning is explored.

Pursuing a Liberal Arts degree was at one time the highest path of learning, but that type of generalized education is no longer considered efficient enough or economically expedient for most students, thus the medical student is never exposed to Shelley, and the creative writing major
is not expected to study zoology.

I don't think our modern society's intense focus on specialization has helped us. If anything it has reduced our creative potential.

Comment on: Are we too specialized (professionally, ideologically, culturally)?

Bigthink — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 05:27:21 +0100

What you say makes me think of the whale that goes to the depths of the sea and comes up for air infrequently. The depths of knowledge/specialization can be intoxicating at times, but only when those depths are resolved to more fundamental truths is there any value. I feel specialization paradoxically can lead to better generalization. I also think overall, generalization is a harder thing to achieve since there is more opportunity for other specialists to contribute their part of the picture. As a society, we rapidly expand the breadth and depth of our knowledge. I believe that with each passing moment, knowing becomes less valuable than knowing where to look. It is more important to learn how to learn, and learn how to adapt, than it is to know a thing till more cannot be known about it.

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Comment on: Are we too specialized (professionally, ideologically, culturally)?

Comment on: Are we too specialized (professionally, ideologically, culturally)?