Being One And Many

To philosopher Gilles Deleuze, a nomad is an individual who cannot be fixed in a single identity. Our economy rewards people who can do one thing well, not people who can do many poorly, but specialization is also risky in a fast-changing environment: when do we become too uni-dimensional, and when do we start spreading ourselves too thin?

This paradox arose after the first industrial revolution to never disappear. Nobody knows what the future holds, so there is no right or wrong answer: the truth often lies in between. 

The world needs both generalists and specialists. Or as the medical profession establishes, general practitioners and physicians.

But the individual needs the flexibility to be both to survive the harsh conditions the market dictates: a T-shaped or M-shaped person, as managers and recruiters call them.

My guess, however, is that the world needs people who can cross different areas of expertise to push the boundaries of human knowledge: it’s not about mastering two, three, or more skillsets, it’s about using different personal interests to augment your craft in innovative ways. 

If it becomes your own, it’s an entirely new craft. From generalization, originality, and a feeling for the market’s needs, a new form of specialization emerges. And, what’s more, a new master is born.

It takes about 5 years of deliberate practice to become proficient at anything. If the average lifespan of a human is of 80 years, and if you start by age 20, you’ll have enough time to thoroughly study a dozen fields. The question is, who do you want to be?