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The Modern Day Renaissance Man

Posted by Soulskill on from the likes-all-the-major-sports-plus-polo dept.

Kilrah_il writes "The Not Exactly Rocket Science blog has an interesting piece about Erez Lieberman Aiden, a scientist that is frequently hopping from one field to another, including 'molecular biology, linguistics, physics, engineering and mathematics.' This is in contrast to the prevailing trend of specializing in a specific field. 'I think a huge amount of invention is recognizing that A and B go together really well, putting them together and getting something better. The limiting step is knowing that A and B exist. And that's the big disadvantage that one has as a specialist – you gradually lose sight of the things that are around. I feel I just get to see more,' Aiden said. The post shows how failure to map antibodies led to an important discovery of the 3D folding of DNA and how the study of irregular verbs created a new scientific field."

11 of 59 comments (clear)

  1. You need specialists and generalists by timeOday · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yes, generalists are important for the reasons stated in the blurb. But specialists provide grist for the mill of generalists - you can only investigate different combinations of known components for so long.

  2. why most of us can't be a renaissance man by simoncpu+was+here · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Jumping from field to field to pursue your passion sounds great, but unfortunately, most of us need to work. I think most geeks would opt to become a "Renaissance Man" given enough funds. :)

    1. Re:why most of us can't be a renaissance man by royallthefourth · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You don't need to be paid to work in a topic to read a couple books on the subject. All those books college students read (and better ones than that) are available to be purchased and read by anyone, so if there's a subject you know little about, go for it! I majored in computer science, but since school I've managed to get a basic handle on continental philosophy, classical economics, medieval history, literary criticism, and psychoanalysis in just a few thousand pages. There's always more to know, and I'm looking forward to reading about edible plants in my region, organic farming techniques, and the status of women in former Soviet republics.

      Get some books!

    2. Re:why most of us can't be a renaissance man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If the definition of renaissance man is broadened to mean being well-versed in many subjects, then yes, any bright individual can become one in their spare time.

      It normally means that the person is a useful contributor to many fields, though. (Ripped right from wikipedia: "When someone is called a Renaissance man today, it is meant that he does not have only broad interests or a superficial knowledge of several fields, but rather that his knowledge is profound and often that he also has proficiency or accomplishments in at least some of these fields and in some cases even at a level comparable to the proficiency or the accomplishments of an expert.") That has become increasingly more difficult over the centuries, as the sort of contributions you can do with a self-educated background / in your spare time / in the garage / without lots of funding have been covered by others. It's not impossible, and it doesn't necessarily require absolute genius, but it does take a lot of time to achieve.

    3. Re:why most of us can't be a renaissance man by TapeCutter · · Score: 2

      Letting the market choose a tangible commodity for a currency seems far more sound than having the gov't inflate an unbacked money supply at its own discretion.

      Why do so many people think inflation was non-existant under the gold standard?

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  3. Specialization is not for insects... by mlts · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Contrary to Robert Heinlein, specialization is not for insects. Especially in fields where not one single person can have all the details.

    This doesn't mean education other than the field of study is pointless. It is important to know something about biology, nuclear physics, math, and other items. However, trying to do a career as a jack of all trades means that one ends up a commodity, competing without any real advantages.

    Specialization keeps people employed. For example, I know guys still doing SAP Basis administration. Unless the company they work for wants to completely chunk most of its internal workings, those guys are not going anywhere.

    A balance needs to be reached. Being a one trick pony is bad. So is a jack of all trades. So, it doesn't hurt to always keep versed in multiple items. So, if SAP gets phased out, one can always use cross skills learned from Basis administration as a DBA. If the DBA game doesn't work out, there is always development.

  4. Take a look at IDEO's Philosophy. They got it righ by Metsys · · Score: 4, Insightful

    IDEO has a really good philosophy about the type of people they hire to work in their firm. They refer to these types of people as T-shaped People. T-shaped People have a broad understanding of almost everything, but there's one thing that they are pretty darned good at. That allows some who is an experienced and knowledgeable engineer to innovate and collaborate with designers, programmers, fine artists, psychologists, or anyone one else in their team, and as the article states, that it allows them to innovate better because they understand more about the world around them.

    So basically a T-shaped person is a hybrid between a specialist and a generalist. You do need people who have a deep understanding of one subject to get stuff done, but a broad understanding of everything else to communicate with people who have deep knowledge in their own field.

  5. Specialization is for Insects. by GuruBuckaroo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Robert Heinlein put it best:

    "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly."

    --
    Poor means hoping the toothache goes away.
  6. What Clippo would say... by elsurexiste · · Score: 2

    ...I'm looking forward to reading about edible plants in my region, organic farming techniques, and the status of women in former Soviet republics.

    It seems that you are trying to create a farm labored by women from Eastern Europe at minimum wage, perhaps even a cult. Need some help with that?

    --
    I rarely respond to comments. Also, don't ask for clarifications: a brain and Google are faster, believe me!
  7. Like on the web by Toe,+The · · Score: 2

    ...frequently hopping from one field to another, including 'molecular biology, linguistics, physics, engineering and mathematics.

    Huh. That's exactly how I browse Wikipedia.

    I've made edits to articles in all of those fields. Does that make me a Renaissance Surfer or something? ;)

  8. Re:Take a look at IDEO's Philosophy. They got it r by meburke · · Score: 2

    For a lucid argument on the need for generalists, read "Critical Path" by R. Buckminster Fuller.

    --
    "The mind works quicker than you think!"