Why divergent thinkers beat geniuses in the real world | David Epstein
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- čas přidán 29. 04. 2024
- Don’t take the prodigy pathway. David Epstein says become a broad thinker instead.
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The idea for Nintendo’s Game Boy system was born from a philosophy that had a much less catchy name: lateral thinking with withered technology.
The term was coined by Gunpei Yokoi, a Nintendo employee who started at the company with a similarly dry job: machine maintenance worker. One day, a Nintendo executive noticed that Yokoi had built a simple extendable-arm-grabber toy in his free time. Let’s sell it, the executive said. It became a small hit.
Yokoi was eventually promoted to help build out the company’s video game business. But he recognized that he didn’t have the expertise to advance the cutting edge of the video game world. So he decided on a very specific strategy: take already well-understood knowledge and technology from different domains and combine them in unique ways to create new products. The result was the Game Boy.
In this interview with Big Think, David Epstein, author of the 2019 book "Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World," explains how lateral thinking - a type of thinking where you approach problems from non-obvious angles - is a problem-solving strategy that’s surprisingly well-suited for our fast-changing world.
Read the video transcript ► bigthink.com/personal-growth/...
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About David Epstein:
David Epstein is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World and The Sports Gene. He has master's degrees in environmental science and journalism and has worked as an investigative reporter for ProPublica and a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. He lives in Washington, DC.
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Do you consider yourself more of a generalist or a specialist?
If you're rich, you're allowed to be generalist but if you're poor, you gotta work super hard to do the bidding of the lucky generalist. The generalist has the vision which the specialists might not have. I though of myself being a generalist but me not being so lucky I feel like I gotta specialize on something to have a living first rather than being rich enough to order my ideas to specialized workers who can materialize my dreams.
@@MetoFulcurm There may be some deep, unfortunate truth to that. I am most certainly a generalist. But I am fortunate to come from a wealthy family so I have means to pursue different interests. The thing I didn't get though was parenting and so I got no support growing up and hence no guidance to pursue my passions. So I'll add another thing to your theory of guidance and support are important too.
@@MetoFulcurm Untrue, I'd agree that there's *pressure* on low class families (I'm from ghetto toledo with one parent) to be specialists-However, thinking that being a generalist means you get to command specialists is idiotic; You're confusing the former with the word 'General', whereas a generalist can even be just an artist-due to that artist learning to work with any medium, rather than *specializing* with one, like clay sculptures. I greatly dislike the rich-I don't think their generalists for the most part, but specialists. A poor person knows how to clean their house well, they can't afford a cleaning service. A poor person is more likely to know upkeep for a car, because they can't afford constant visits to the mechanic. A rich person gets to be lazy at the expense of others, which does often involve demanding the unnecessary service of others. Consuming products does not equal consuming knowledge.
@@sullyschwartz2365 so you didnt actually refute the argument
@@MetoFulcurm did you not watch the video. His example was a factory worker who developed a product in his free time. Being the kind of generalist who succeeds also means your able to bring your knowledge from the different fields you know together.
The best advice I got from my math teacher in HS was "the world doesn't care what you're bad at; they care what you're good at." This was especially the case with mathematics, which I've done pretty well in life without knowing. Kids, you will almost certainly find something you're passionate about. Just don't waste time trying to break down brick walls with you're fingernails.
My math teacher said: the air is thin at the top
Hi, I loved how closed your statement"Just don't waste time trying to break down brick walls with your fingernails." This is very illustrative to persuade any kind of audience. Greetings!
Yeah, but most people have been programmed to think they’re bad at math by terrible teachers. A good teacher can make any subject simple. Almost no one in my class understood the crap taught by the “math teachers” who were bored and didn’t care about students, but my mom was able to explain the problems to me in a simple way that made them easy. I graduated with straight A’s and other students thought I was some math genius.
Too bad the majority of us have to work shit jobs to a life.
My math teacher really believed in practical learning. So she made us buy 60 watermelons for a math problem.
i was a moron at age 5 and i still am at the age of 26, consistency is the key gentlemen
😂😂😂😂
with zero power comes zero responsibility. Keep walking that path
@@Ikaros23 hahaha
Bruhh...
😂😆🤣 nothing sexier than a person who can admit their own short comings
"We only see those prodigies in these very kind learning environments.” This is extremely helpful.
Hey I don't understand how the book is helpful, can you explain your thoughts? prodigies are usually in performing arts, which is a specialization type field. If you're competing in the Olympics, you don't want to have 3 other passion interests.
If your kid is not interested in the performing arts, or anything competitive, then that's fine. Just love them and help them find things that they're good at.
@@gcg8187 Sorry--that was a very vague comment. I mean the observation that child prodigies exist only in areas of kind learning environments (like playing the piano, golf, chess, etc.) and not in more difficult learning environments (Wall St. investing or generating mathematical models to help oil exploration) makes a lot of sense, and it helps me clarify the difference (in my own mind) between "kind" and "wicked" learning environments and how I can constructively relate to both, and help my students constructively relate to both.
@@montefleming8390 Warren Buffet started investing at a really young age, and was given guidance by his father who I believe owned a stock broker.
I think we don't see many prodigies in those areas because of opportunity, and they're often not touched on by most education institutions.
@@gcg8187 from my understanding it means if any kids have the passion/motivation and discipline to do 1 certain thing, they can become a prodigy at it. Especially in area where the learning environment is "kind", which is explained as having rules and clear solutions, instead of the chaotic work most of the world have. However you shouldnt use this as a benchmark for everyone, because its not necessarily better than a kid just having so many interest and not be a prodigy in 1 area. Its helpful to realize this, as some of us expect childrens to be a prodigy, even tho thats not a role model for everyone and might actually harm a child developing whatever skills they might acquire if we let them explore their own interests.
@@zachb1706 Is Warren Buffet a prodigy though?
I'm 44. I remember being in my mid 20s, trying so hard to build my culinary career and I told another, older, woman chef I admired that I wanted to create a magazine for women chefs. I was interning for her on the weekends (aka working for free) and I remember her telling me I seemed like a jack of all trades and a master of none.
This woman was struggling so much that she couldn't even make change for her customers at her store and had to get change from me when a customer made a purchase, so why I took anything she said seriously, idk,, but at the time, it gutted me.
Long term, however, I'm glad I never believed her and kept pursuing whatever interested me. I loved writing since a child, so I continued to write. I always loved tech and software, so I taught myself how to code.
Anything that interests me enough, I learn more about and try and get better at. Not to be the best, but to earn a skill level that makes me feel better about being me.
By my thirties, I'd learned serious skills as a professional chef and pastry chef simultaneously, then I quit culinary altogether and became an accountant, and eventually, a senior software support and implementation professional, and now I do UX focused business process and operational design for the hospitality industry and I'm not done. There's another business of my own I'm working on for residual income as I sleep which involves app development.
*Don't believe ppl when they say you need to stick with one thing.* How will you know unless you allow yourself to give it a go?
I never became the most sought after accountant, or a celebrity chef, or developer, but ALL those experiences put me where I am today. That's why I can make my brain clearly identify and think of solutions to problems in ways many people cannot.
Try and attain at least proficiency in various topics. He's right that no one cares about specialized skill anymore. It's all about what benefit and added value you can add using all your past experiences.
That's what makes ppl stand out.
Amazing
W
I have always felt the same way.. I never settle down with anything.. It's always one thing or the next. I like painting and creating works of art but i also like learning about how the world works.. That is stock markets, tradings, accounting concepts, economics.. I also have an interest in film making works behind the scenes although i don't have any intention to pursue it. Also i occasionally try to learn abstract concepts regarding mathematics or computers. So i always try to broaden my horizons instead of just sticking to one thing. Reading this has helped me quite a bit.
One thing that bothers me is the way people will say “jack of all trades master of none” and completely discard the rest of the sentence, which changes EVERYTHING. it goes “but better than one”
THANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR STORY. I'm at my 20s and my passion revolves around many different things. Playing instruments, dancing, video editing and reading. I've learned korean and japanese writing system and can listen and understand morse code.
When I was at senior high, I'm more inclined into psychology study but now I applied to computer engineering course at college. when I was 18, I stopped school and worked at a call center industry for half a year.
Honestly, I've done all these things because my wants and likes changes a lot from time to time and rn I still don't have any direction in life. I'm not expecting all my hobbies to benefit me in the near future but I hope atleast two of it will bring me somewhere that will make me have a fulfilling life
it's why well rounded educations benefit most people later in life; and why arts should not be overlooked. To learn 2 subjects is good, figuring out a way to combine them is art.
That latter "art" you mentioned is completely different from the former "art". You don't get to the learn your latter "art" from learning the former "art".
Exactly. Some modern students love to complain about gen ed classes. They think a class on how to do taxes is more useful than algebra or that colleges should be nothing more than job training programs. When you overspecialize, you become unable to adapt. A great education gives you the deductive logic, analytical, rhetorical skills to solve new problems that don't come with an instruction manual.
@@frankxu4795 I disagree, learning to create something unique from abstract ideas is exactly what Art is. Frankly, an art degree wont make you an artist, nor does it serve much purpose than to become an art teacher, but learning to pull from creative outlets can help students come up with concepts that they wouldn't have leaned just by learning xyz facts.
@@frankxu4795 Liberal arts do help you think “laterally” if you will, across many disciplines. I figured that’s what he meant
beautiful comment :)
For anyone who hasn't read his book please read it. It's really good. The last chapter really helped me understand myself and I stopped looking at all my varied interests as a 'not being able to commit' or being scatty but now as learning experiences. It's made things easier.
What’s his book called?
@@larahartley9578 Range. His other book on sport isn't as good IMO.
What was so important in the last chapter?
@@iche9373 TBH I can't remember exactly but I remember it all clicking at the end when he explained all his ideas into a succinct few sentences. The arguments in the book are convincing though and I could see parralels in my own life.
Nice, what are your interests? I would say maybe if you have too much interests it is hard to progress with each one since the less time you have, but I think you can do it if you manage it well.
As a former "gifted" kid who is now 24, I was unable to stick with the rigorous environment of school for very long, I had to learn my skills elsewhere. That comment about "friendly learning environments" really rings true, even when transitioning from elementary school to high school. Like the praise I got for reading at a "high school level" when I was in elementary school didn't last, lol. We all become adults and we all learn the hard way what our faults are.
Greetings fellow GATE kid.
Lies again? Design Technology Canada Gay
I am just curious, what was the failure in regards to your reading comprehension level during your transition to high school? Did everybody else in highschool read at the same level as you?
You just don't get the same quality of positive reinforcement as you get older.@@OHOHOHCOME
@@OHOHOHCOME when a 2 year old can read, it is impressive. When a 14 year old can read, it is expected. As you get older, your formally "special" skills are just better than average.
Graduated in law but didn't become a lawyer. Went to become a travels agent, then call center, then back office administration, to finally land at my dream job in the IT industry at the age of 29. Took me a while but now I think I've found my path lol
After leaving big bucks law I took a 2/3 pay cut to work as a graphic artist, got tired of that and managed bookstores. Got tired of eating ramen and proofread high tech IPO documents. Got burnout and worked in a floral shop 😊. Am I versatile or do I have seriously short attention spa-LOOK, a squirrel!
Half the people taking a law degree in the USA never pass the Bar in their state. But that doesn't mean they don't do well: corporate executives are hard hit all the time by issues that are underlined........in law.
So I’ve got a computer science degree but never used it. I now want to get into IT. I know I’ll have a leg up with the degree, but where should I start? I like networking should I start with passing the CCNA? ❤
inspirational. :)
That's a nice story
I felt like I was alone in being unimpressed by child prodigies. I remember seeing a show about “really intelligent” kids. It was a game show where’d they’d compete to see who the “smartest” was. I eventually realized that the kids that did well were the best at memorizing things, not the smartest. They got a lot of stuff right, but I realized that when they didn’t have something memorized, they’d give really stupid answers. That was because they didn’t actually understand anything they were trying to memorize.
At some point, they’ll realize that memorizing answers can make you do great in school, but basically doesn’t matter in real world careers. Very few jobs depend on memorizing anything. So I absolutely agree. Being great at one thing and mediocre everywhere else probably won’t get you very far in life.
Spellbee
Thinking skills was laughing, and that’s what our educational system is so strung out on testing and memorization! In train anybody to memorize stuff I don’t think that’s necessarily a genius
what? most jobs are repetitive and not that difficult to do/understand. A lot of these people would do well in the world in a lot of jobs as long as they're not in the creative realm
i think a lot of jobs benefit from good memory such as driving for example , remembering routes is a huge benefit even with gps
Memory is actually a low-level cognitive task that computers can already replicate. It's understanding, critical thinking, reasoning, etc that truly defines an intelligent being
The commencement speaker at my sons graduation encouraged her classmates to fail. Fail Big. Fail often.
They had been coddled their whole life.
Her Mom was near me in the audience and I thanked her! It was spiritually nourishing for me to hear that speech.
Ok, but telling people to fail isn't the right advice. How about telling people to succeed? It turns out that entrepreneurs who fail often don't actually become more successful. Only entrepreneurs who succeed become more successful.
@@thegreatjohannes It's not about failing, it's about the how fast you can recovery after it. People who don't have experience failing, when they fail , they feel the impact hard and some don't even recovery (I know a friend who fail his MCAT , his first "Big failure" and he unfortunately killed himself)
@@thegreatjohannes*NOT an average group of HS seniors* she was speaking to a select group of over achievers many of whom were also receiving their Associates of Arts Degree with their High School Diploma.
It may well have been the first time that many of them had heard, "You are more than your accomplishments."
One student's School project was successfully bringing clean water supply to a small village in Africa.
She was setting many free from a competitive academic compulsion imposed since early childhood.
@@thegreatjohannes You are not seeing the bigger picture. We all know succeeding = successful, this isn't news. But the journey of learning, failing, should not be dreaded, it should be enjoyed because that is what most of life is going to be. I might be wrong but I think that is what the commencement speaker meant.
The message is sometimes it is okay to make mistakes. You do learn.
This is my personal story, I remembered when I was 17 I was sitting on a bench waiting for my grade 3 piano exam, I saw a 9 year old little boy holding a grade 6 exam book. I felted demoralised and told my piano teacher about it. He said "It's not when you start its when you stop" . Now 18 years later here I am still playing the piano, sometimes I wonder if that little kid still plays the piano today.
Wow very insightful!
Probably not, as he/she would hate it
Thank you for sharing your story. Many people tend to believe, in order to be good at music, one has to start early as a child. Even if you don't become a professional, learning how to play an instrument has many benefits.
I have the same story, but just replace, "piano" with "drawing and painting". It's not the most amazing thing in the world but it's something none of us really expect because, perhaps we love in the present and what we feel is affecting us more right now.
and you're probably not as good as Stefan kijek. womp womp
As someone that switches obsessions constantly and has learned a 100 different hobbies this is comforting. I always end up beating myself up for not just pursuing the couple fields I enjoy the most. But this assures me that having the perspective I have will be what actually makes my work worthwhile.
It makes me not self conscious over having such a broad scope of interests. It's something my uncle and I have always shared in, the fact that in one conversation we can talk about theoretical science, philosophy, spiritualism, movie directors from the 30s, influential authors, manga and comic artists, historical events that happened 4000 years ago, and what food we are wanting to learn to cook. Our conversations end up branching to nearly every subject one can learn about because we engage with all of them. We are the token jack of all trades. The type that will learn carpentry just to save money building a house.
Ok but has it made you successful ?
@@baigpigpigDefine Successful.
This is also my experience with ADHD.
Actually read the book a while ago. Very helpful guide on how to literally just learn. Book said something that really resonated with me about how we tend to get frustrated when a task is difficult, BUT that when you find a solution for it, that solution is burnt in your head forever. That's learning right there... and it's super counterintuitive because frustration makes us quit!!
I've been pondering this idea almost daily and it completely changed how I approach learning new skills in art
Which book?
@@liyahibrahim8809 Range (it's shown in the video)
This is just a shameless ad for the book to make Mr Epstein rich quick. Scummy.
I think it’s called creating cognitive load
@@heck_n_degenerate940 ayy sure man
My biggest struggle in life was to find something I enjoyed doing, probably caused by my ADHD. So I developed a BROAD amount of interest, and I spent my freetime studying them, experimenting and so on, the more I learnt the more I could take away from it and apply to new interests or life situations. There has never been a single challenge I couldn't tackle, except my mental health... I found joy in solving them and finding ways around it. So I was never good at one thing, but okay in a lot of things, but as you grow you become really good in a lot of things and suddenly you know too much
This makes me feel better about not having stuck with a single hobby for long, I have done way too many things
When you take a course and suddenly realise you know more than the teacher
As an ADHD'er I agree. Financially, if you are consistent, and learn how to do one thing very very well, you can get a job making 120K a year. That's what I did when I switched from classical music to software engineering, but I always have a handful of interests that I study deeply since I was in high school xD If you're in the performing arts, being a generalist is a terrible handicap, but in other areas of life you can shine. It just takes work ethic, faith, and gratitude
fellow ADHD adult here. things got confusing when i went from being great at school to being... all over the place with interests in adulthood. but like you mention, i've learned the joy of dabbling. when something really clicks with me, i'll do it for days on end, until my interest shifts to something else in a month or three. now i think my brain enjoys the *process of learning*, and i don't feel less than someone else for being a "jack of all trades." it's like our little superpower!
ADHD doesn’t exist you simply lack discipline
the part about "not feeling behind because you don't yet know where you're going" is very true for me.
whenever I felt trapped, or making the least progress in my professional career happens exactly when I felt "behind" and had to focus on one thing for longer.
on the contrary, I'd say all my success have been being more patient with myself, and being confident in taking the time to explore without the panicky feeling that I was "wasting time"
That's because the negative feeling of being behind is what held back your progress. The inner feelings that we have create the mental perceptions of our reality. Once you dealt with the feeling by being more patient with yourself, it eventually disappeared then was her place with a lighter, more positive feeling, which created the appearance reality of making progress in your professional career
Can u explain this more please? Where does he talk about it?
@@gcg8187 wow you're so right
01001
Some people here don't really get it since we have lived in an industrial system glorifying a specialist trajectory. I learned that I am a generalist/multipotentialite because of videos like this. The thing is, specialists and multipotentialites can work together. Just like the fact that there are introverts and extroverts, optimists and defensive pessimists. You just have to find the right place and work where you fit the most. I had my MBA but I've been a singer, startup founder, microbiologist, and salesperson. My greatest strength has always been to find unexplored connections among systems, and create synergies among institutions. Sometimes, I use microbiology concepts as metaphor during business presentations. And people really loved the creativity and authenticity. I am glad I saw this video. I am excited to buy and read his book whether it's perfectly written or not. It doesn't matter. I just love to read new perspectives that make us realize and discover the beauty of human diversity.
I relate entirely to this comment
God please stop with the stupid introvert extrovert BS
Go outside
@@stanleystove lol, you sound like a little kid who has no understanding of people outside of themselves.
@@theancient1911 shit me too, especially that middle part where he said that thing
You would have known that earlier if you understood how cognitive functions work. Start from MBTI. This is typical high Ne.
One of my mechanical engineering Prof. at UC Berkeley told me: "A jack of all trades is a master of none, but far better than a master of one." He was referring to a mechanical engineer as the swiss army knife of engineers - having one of the broadest knowledge spectrums and being able to adapt and read into different topics when needed.
i like it, but it's "trades"
Being a mechanical engineer, its a pain in the ass. Its so hard to pivot to another field because every company wants very specific experience on something. To go from the manufacturing world to design world is almost Herculean, you basically have to move within the same company if you want a chance at it.
what about a mechatronics engineer hehe
@@annafernandez6674 They generally have mechanical skills, but lack in manufacturing engineering and material science, which is more focused on in classical mechanical engineering.
@@Jaigarful I am also a menchanical engineer and I have to disagree strongly. I have soldid skills in every classic field of engineering and can apply them every day. Manufacturing engineering, mechanical parts desing, design for manufacturability, entire machine and product concepts, electrical engineering with PCBs and power cabinets, optics, fluid dynamics, material science, test benches,... you name it
I have met plenty of successful people in my line of work who are not that bright in a great many things it's almost disturbing. Secondly, taking a page from nature. It is the generalists that tend to be the ones that survive every extinction that occurs, typically the ones that survive on the least set of needs. It's the specialists that lose out when the system begins to crumble.
Good point
yeah, but society isn't a balanced enviroment. Your specialisation might get unimportant so you get 'extinct' because you can't successfully switch to another job. But tons of jobs are ruled by specialists in that area. I might be a generalist, but I also have to be better than a large portion of specialists. An obvious example is sports. You can be good in 10 sports but because you didn't specialize in 1, you have basically no chance to compete with the specialists.
@@ajtatosmano2 🗣
@@ajtatosmano2 good point its definitely not an exact 1 to 1 comparison but just expresses a part of the factors in the situation.
true it's because the specialist are least able to adapt
It's crazy how I used to be super insecure about it when I was younger, seeing everyone around me specialize at their own respective focus, while I seem to jump from one interest to another and couldn't call myself an expert in anywhere that I hopped into. It was when I was in higher years in school, when we had to brainstorm topics for our first research class, that I realized how much I've learned about a multitude of subjects that I was able to come up with a dozen ideas, by synthesizing seemingly unrelated areas, almost intuitively. I impressed my peers and teacher so much, they thought I was smart for being able to 'think of that'.
The thing with me is my tendency to hyperfixate too, so I don't have to rotate interests anymore, I just weave them out to connect them with whatever that I'm learning next.
They would always tell me to pick a lane and master it, but not all of us learn the same way. People like me thrive in being able to pick up things from different places in order to understand and do better.
The artist grasps the contents from the world around him and paints a picture from the beauty of his mind.
autism and adhd
I was once told that I should focus on one thing instead of doing all the things I do. I did not know how to explain why I feel it's so important to keep expanding, but this video describes it well.
I love his logic, especially towards the end where he points out that an expectation we have for us as kids is honestly... not that practical. It was a pleasure to learn from this video.
Although this logic does, indeed, hold much merit for when you are building up your experiences as a generalist, there does come a time to choose your path for a longer term. Fortunately, life has gotten long enough to accommodate this.
I started my career in the mining industry and later moved to the oil and gas industry where essentially all my past experience was seen as a detriment and I was forced to start over. The funny thing I noticed was most of the people running things had done all kinds of weird stuff early in their career to survive and it really seemed to help the businesses. It was weird that there was so much emphasis on someone being a specialist in the younger staff and I felt it made them weaker as they had very limited viewpoints and ultimately as they progressed higher you could see the shift in very narrow minded dogmatic approaches to things which ultimately made the industry tank later I believe. It left me quite bitter to be honest as I wasted about 5 years of my life trying to fit into a system that threw so much potential away. But I learned a lot of what not to do in a business.
Still the people with really narrow info are the goto when a specific problem occurs I don’t see it as generalist vs narrowed people
@@ko-Daegu Put the right minds in the right positions and an organisation works. The real issue is that the niche knowledge bank you describe isn’t appreciated in the recompense given so these narrow minds climb the ladder leading to tunnel vision running the business. In my view management should be lower paid because their abilities often don’t merit higher pay than the niche knowledge holders who keep the business running.
@Penguin Pie What do you do now?
I’m interested in getting into the oil and gas business. Any advise?
Same here bro your advice would be appreciated
Comparison is the thief of joy. As the gentleman said do not (or try not rather, I not it will be hard not to) compare yourself to others as that will only lead to you feeling inferior or lead to you being ignorant if you're doing better than someone else in that moment. You don't know what circumstances another person has suffered through to get in the position they are whether for good or for worst.
I’ve had a lot of first-hand experience with this in the pst year.
I’ve always wanted to be an orthopaedic surgeon, but had average scores on our standardized tests in medical school. (For reference, most orthopaedic surgery residencies screen out applicants with anything less than ~75th percentile exam scores because there’s so many applicants.) Taking and scoring well on these exams has become a very specialized skill, but one I apparently was not great at.
I applied to around 80 residency programs in my final year of medical school, but failed to get a single interview invitation. However, because I have a broad range of interests and hobbies, both technical and creative, I managed to land a research position at Harvard creating surgical artificial intelligence. It requires much more general creative thinking and divergent innovation.
So in the rigid and specialized world of standardized testing I was seen as average and overlooked. But in the chaotic and murky world of tech innovation and creative engineering on the bleeding edge, I’ve given podium presentations at Harvard for my ideas. You just have to find out where your wiring is best suited. (So for those of you with ADHD, etc, like myself, fear not! 🙂)
One question though, Logan: Would you want a 75% doctor operating on you?
A surgical room is a high stress test environment. If you would fail because of the pressure or lack of testing skills, I would hope to God that it wasn’t I (or anyone else) under your knife.
@@VoltairesRevenge true. People criticize med school for being hard and selective but no one wants a doctor who get 75% to be operating on them. They're like "they deserve a CHANCE" but no, they really don't if they can't score good in med-school, how are they gonna be as doctors?
@@Athenabadassinthearena You still trust doctors after the past three years?
I get the point of the 1st 2 replies, but what you are doing could be a part of significant long term improvement in orthopedic surgery. Full spectrum data can uncover patterns not obvious to even the best surgeon.
@@VoltairesRevengetests doesn't necessarily reflect real-world skills, the surgeon with the most stable hand wasn't necessarily the student who remember the most medical information so depending on what test the surgeon get 75% on, it might have little to no correlation to the result of the surgery
Don’t feel behind because you probably don’t even know where you’re going… this spoke to me. Thank you
My mom used to tell me: “One specialize skill brings you success.” When I was interested in reading, trying and studying everything during my teenagers and early twenties. Now I had one career for 20 years but everything I learned helped that career. I managed a legal consulting office better than any lawyer, because I was a generalist. I learned and adapted to changing technology and business. I went from a legal Secretary to owning my on consulting firm that helps people begin startups, navigating the legal and business environment. With generalist mind, you never know where you end up, but it’s always an adventure.
I always love the phrase Chance favors the prepared mind and I think it benefits people who think divergently the best because they plan for a multitude of scenarios and think in Broad terms so most likely are able to capitalize on opportunity when it presents itself. If you're a genius in a particular field it can be very hard to capitalize on any opportunity that falls outside the scope of your exceptional discipline
Have always been a divergent thinker..but it's tough to thrive in a rigid society where there are expectations to conform rather than stand out.
This video doesn't address how society is investing less in divergent ideas and doubling down on things that are considered the norm. I think the 70s-90s treated divergent thinkers a lot better than today.
@@sp123why do you think that divergent thinkers were treated better 30 or 40 years ago? Is it because innovation has reached a saturation point and we need "geniuses" to figure out something revolutionary?
this is why sharing knowledge is key. it's not fair when people gatekeep techniques because they want to stay being better at something.
You say that until I want to start competing on the nuclear bomb market. Some secrets are worth keeping.
Well fairness isn’t the only bad thing about it. Sharing knowledge and building relationships that way just helps you become successful in society. Eventually everyone who used to on top for a single thing crumbles. For example when Apple released the iPhone and obliterates their own iPod sales, it was still good for them bc it kept them competitive. Although, they’re losing that innovation nowadays..
@@elinope4745 I think OP meant publishing giants gatekeeping research paper knowledge in physics, medicine, chemistry, and areas other than in weapon making.
lots of work environments promote that way of thinking. Manager thinks: "if this new guy gets as good as me, they're gonna fire my ass". Often it's true.
The entire patent industry is a kin to capitalism, it boils down to every man for himself. Sad world.
I was not a prodigy by any means, but in childhood/teenage years I was excelling in school while in reality I haven't done a proper homework ever in my life, I would spent 10 minute at best every day on homework. It was only after I enrolled in University that I've realized my skills have reached an average person's skills (rather they caught up to me while I didn't progress meaningfully for a very long time) and I actually had to spend some time to do assignments, this was time I discovered I have absolutely zero understanding of how to learn anything, information either stuck with me instantly or it doesn't and if it doesn't I just didn't know how to learn it. Teach your children how to LEARN, this is probably the most important skill they can acquire for entire life, learning it in late adolescent / early adulthood years can be very painful experience.
You might want to research Asperger’s I had the same problem.
@@elijahtrenton8351 yes, or ADHD. Btw I think Asperger's is an out-of-date term now, it's just autism.
@@elijahtrenton8351 any interesting books?
Another problem with university is they force you to learn so much in a short period of time. Its basically cramming
YOOO I'M SO GLAD O FOUND YOUR COMMENT. I stg I thought I was crazy . From the beginning until high school I didn't have the need to learn to get A's, and as a result I didn't know how to "learn". Then came university and oh boy am I in trouble. In my head was "Am I getting stupid or everybody else just getting smarter." I still remember how for an hour or so I didn't know how to learn by reading books. LIKE yes of course I can read and know what it says but I just can't understand how to actually "learn" something from reading ( if that makes sense). It was so weird, that was most definitely one of the most important wake up call I ever had. So I fully agree ok what you said, to teach others HOW to learn properly.
My boy Gunpei, the most inspiring man in my book.
Props to Yamauchi to see the genius behind this man.
Also he did make Iwata president of the company instead of his son, he was sometimes difficult to talk but the man surely was wise.
I feel this video is about how I live. I was terrible at school and trying to learn something specific but somehow it never bothered me. It always felt like I was learning the wrong way. The moment I was out in the real world I didn't feel any panic while I saw the top of the class students struggle and becoming depressed. Life becomes easy when you get used to handle things with no overpowered brain or special skills. You become king of adaptability, change is my ally unlike how other people feel. Even tho I consider my self average at anything, the world feels like easy mode too me, do I really have to be better than this? I think I'm chilling.
"A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one."
Yeah oftentimes
In this era of information... Jack of All Trade will win...
Not in medicine.
@@paulguncheon2019 What do you mean?
@@astrobiojoe7283 Simply put, medicine is discipline of and for specialists. Who does one want to perform surgery on themselves? A surgical specialist or a GP?
As a neurodivergent, I agree that thinking divergently or lateral thinking can lead to new inventions and revolutions in any field. FYI many people on the Autism spectrum are great at divergent thinking.
"aS a nEurOdiVerGent" Looooooooolll
@@vincentnaayem
Your comment is rude, immature and not at all original. Be a better person Vince, thanks.
@@vincentnaayem do you even know what a neuro divergent is?
All of the self-aggrandizing aside, what you describe is clearly within the 'kind' world described in the video. Autists are great at doing work in a kind environment, but add ghost variables and ever-changing stimulus and rewards systems, and they breakdown. Don't pretend autism is something its not.
@@vincentnaayem damn really showing your dirty manners here. Bad Vincent!
As someone who teaches kids music lessons (some of whom definitely seem to be prodigies) this video resonated with me on a lot of levels. Your observation about “kind“ versus “wicked“ environments is really crucial, and honestly one of the things that separates a simpler classroom from an advanced one… critical thinking at an adult stage versus the kid stuff of mostly knowing information. When I saw some orangutans at the zoo who were being trained to use simple linguistic patterns via a computer, the zookeeper made sure to stress (in other terms), that the environments they were providing for the orangutans were decidedly un-wicked, and someone even asked about it. So it’s kind of cool to see that logic applied in such a learning environment.
I wonder if artificial and human intelligence continue to merge, if we will see some kind of third category, and/or further dissolution of specialization
I have stumbled upon most of these ideas through CZcams/ personal experience and it makes me feel kind of amazing to have this wide pool of untapped potential beneath me. Makes me feel much more secure and also increases chances of not going bust if the area I currently work in dies with time. I know I have varied interests which I can pursue if things don't work out tomorrow and that gives me immense hope for my future. Great talk , great content.
Being a generalist in a world build for specialists is not an easy task as one has to compete with specialists in an environment built to reward and value specialists. It often requires exceptional abilities to achieve same result as average specialists. The gain from being generalist is more visible when judging one's life achievements as a whole in a long time span rather measuring success only in a particular field or in short time frames.
There is little nuance in these videos, take everything with a grain of salt
be generalist when you start and gradually start specializing in what you are good at, maybe?
@@sp123 why salt? why not pepper?
@@adsri2755 the longer you are unemployed the less likely is it to find work. Specialize ASAP or get left behind. Once you are an expert in one field you can broaden your horizon - this doesn't count for music and art or similar, though.
@@vornamenachname594 what you say makes sense if you already know what you want to do.
This could be one of the most insightful videos I've seen on CZcams in a long time. I'm an X-er and have witnessed technology boom turning the "nerds" into the alpha billionaires of the information age leaving the jocks and B & C students in the dust. However, we're getting to that point again where today's generalists, who can process this information and leverage it, are finding new footing. I'm not say it's the jocks who'll rule highschool again, but that clever thinkers and geniuses alike can find a place in today's modern world.
and the nerds' plan is to kill everyone because they're stupid. congratulations, we should have kept them down.
You should checkout out his book if you like what he’s saying it was pretty impactful for me. I listened to it on audible
I think that it's worth creating a distinction between more than just two groups; Elon Musk is in many ways a kind, "jock" (preppy upbringing, connections with high wealth) and Bezos is only a geek in kind of ceremonial sense (he owns the company that performs the ceremonies) Consider greats thinkers in the 20th century like Douglas Engelbart, Norbert Weiner, Ross Ashby, Stafford Beer, and especially the great Alan Curtis Kay-- there doesn't seem to be a lot of congruence between the, "Startup Alphas" (worth noting for the 1000th time that humans aren't wolves) and the, "Innovation Men" of the 20th century much at all. I think that we ought to see startup class and their handlers as hustlers. It's not an innovation or technology game anymore.
All that matters in a technical sense is that the technically literate can continue to innovate along certain lines. This produces military advantages. This produces huge amounts of growth. The fear is that the innovative class being disrupted by a public that, "demands the right to participate;" we run into what Socrates and Plato noted as being the perverse element(s) of Democracy (ie. "rule by Damos"). It's this line of thinking that protects the, "artisanal" classes even in the midst of a military rule; their, "necessaryness." It's worth noting that the Laconians (who conquered the Athenians) and the Romans both didn't engage in institutional or Theoric science(s). Their engineering and political wisdom as plundered or inherited through warfare. This is the great fear of the innovative classes-- being made into Greek Slaves. That's why upper middle class Liberals fear Trump as a potential new Hitler. It's not Trump per-se but the bitterness of the Populist movement overturning the social order where-in the technically and intellectually benefit greatly from especially copyright law and the prolifity of institutions of higher learning. Tl;dr-- The United States actually has no real incentive for scientific or technological innovation as long as it has the largest and most competent military in the world; Quite like Spartans our main export is violence which the world euphemizes as, "navigable waters and global stability."
There's a deep resentment in the working classes towards the executive, scientific, and financial classes for not sharing proportionally in the benefits afforded to mankind through technological innovation. We need a, "Conflict of Orders" to create a truce between the capitally effective and labor-working classes in the west. If we don't we'll slowly but surely be producing generations of domestic terrorists and tyrants. There will be Trouble(s).
@@kaimarmalade9660 I generally with what you said, but politically, the two parties are one on the same when it comes to big business and the information/tech companies today are the biggest. Therefore, Congress is going to be corrupted by their money and are too tech illiterate to truly change a Musk, Bezos or Zuckerberg. Therefore, talk of liberals and Trump is moot. The issue is whether politicians can personally benefit and Conservative and Pelosi certainly do. They all share in the blame. The same was true to a degree in Greece and Roman where wealth got in the way of their Democrown internal affairs to the point where division was their politicians only refuge from accountability. Same today. That's the risk we run. Also, for the record, Socrates didn't believe in actual Democracy, only that the wealthy and educated get a vote. That would have eliminated 90% of the people and say there are those in the 21st century world that feel the same - even in the US. We are indeed in for "trouble(s)" in the near future. Hopefully its bloodless and works in favor of true democracy.
@@destructodisk9074 their entire life? Nope. Many are on teams so they know how to work well in groups and how to lead. The best ones know how to utilize people in their best roles and get the best out of people without being an ass. Those are the good ones. It's not a zero-sum comment.
Kudos For David Epstein for the Book and Easy to comprehend explaining with real examples, Also kudos to the Editors! The editing makes it even fun and engaging. The guys who set the room also did good job.
Overall Great Series guys. Please continue. As a young confused teenager with anxiety, i need this.
Finally. Well said. I'm in engineering, but I find that a lot of the way I learn math and science is the same way I learned how to play music and draw.
"Finding universal abstract thought patterns that can be applied to a wide range of topics" is such an incredible way of putting... this.
Don't limit yourself people. The world will never be the same for longer than 5 years.
Sorry to bother but do you mind elaborating more on what you said about learning math and science similarly to learning music and art? I'm in engineering too but also have a background with art and music as I was a singer through pretty much all of my school life. It sounds like an interesting point of view and honestly might even help me struggle a bit less with learning math haha
Math and music are very similar actually. Both are based on logic and both are highly abstract. And yet we need to be creative thinker to master music and/or math.
He makes a lot of good points, but especially towards the end on thinking long term. Thinking long term is useful when you can make a meaningful prediction / analysis. So, when you, for example, try to make a choice for what kind of career you want to work in, well, it tends to end pretty badly. They often either don't like the career and push on because they feel they have to, or they give up and try to change careers ending up permanently feeling like they're behind everyone else (and probably wasting a whole lot of money).
Instead, building a up a worldview, based on a lot of different experiences, can allow you to see the very patterns you need to make relevant long term decisions. But only after you've first had the dozens or hundreds of short term experiences that gave you that information.
& how will u do that practically ??
@@ko-Daegu The simple answer is: stop thinking, and start paying attention to either your surrounding, or what you're doing (depending on what you're trying to learn.)
Don't justify or explain what you're seeing, just look.
Then go out and try thing you don't know will work, and see what happens. Over time you'll begin to recognize the patterns.
The complicated answer:
You need to learn to distinguish between the thoughts and the basic information you're getting (sounds, sights, smell, etc.) The thoughts are things like "Rock, chair, mean, kind" etc. Then pay attention mainly to sights/sounds, and only after you've built up a solid idea of what it is you're looking at do you listen to what others have to say to explain it.
Because then you can compare it to what you've seen on the ground, and you can see for yourself (if you stick to primarily focusing on sights/sounds etc) how much it really explains.
At least that's how I do it. Try it out for yourself and see what happens, maybe you can figure out a better way. (as is the point of this whole method)
@@hungrymusicwolf can you make a lot of money with this method?
I was more or less a neglected child prodigy. I did things like writing novels at age 8 and building a full-size working roller-coaster out of trash at age 10. Nobody really tried to train me; my parents were too busy promoting my brothers, who were older, more typically "brilliant" (i.e. into math), and of course male, which mattered a lot in my community. The most I had was my grandmother, who saw a kindred spirit in me and gave me carte blanche to ask her anything I wanted to know, even though she was physically frail and couldn't drill me in anything. So I'd more or less go learn whatever I wanted. One summer I read everything I could find about carousel horse carving; the summer after that, it was Aztec history and culture; the summer after that, vampires in folklore.
I haven't had an easy path as an adult (mostly because I finished a terminal degree in 2008 and the global economy hates me), but my greatest asset has always been my wide base of knowledge, my love of learning, and my ability to apply what I learn in one discipline to what I do in another. Among other things, I've ended up teaching part-time, and I'm popular with students because I "can make anything interesting". I write books, I make art, and I spend time working on my mental health because it turns out being written off as the wrong kind of prodigy can mess you up. I probably would have burned out by now if I were more of a specialist.
You are so great! I wish I was you!
Being allowed to make a roller coaster out of trash! That's a magical childhood right there
The global economy doesn't hate you. Everyone who graduated in 08/09 went into a recession.
The challenge for me personally about being a gifted kid was that I never developed work ethic until my mid-20s. What other people did habitually at that point I had to learn manually haha but at the end of the day I've been given a fantastic gift 🎁
Lol, lmao
Soooo many concepts to learn and unpack here
Wish there were more parts on this topic
Right? This video should be an hour
He literally advertises his book at the start
Divergent thinking is more than thinking outside the box; it's thinking without the box, and imposing structure later. This type of thinking is found among people with personality traits such as nonconformity, curiosity, willingness to take risks, and persistence.
success creates principles, not the other way around
The reason why so many child prodigies and geniuses fail is because they assume things will always be easy for them and that everything is a matter of "talent." They may put in the time but it's rarely a struggle for them; the second they hit a wall, they think to themselves, "Maybe I'm really not that good," and have a tough time pushing through. Also, quite frankly, many of them are so focused (whether on their own or by their parents) on their "thing" that they fail to develop social skills or any skills outside of their area of speciality (as is strongly alluded to in the video) which they will need to be a success, especially as an adult.
Most “gifted” kids work very hard, even in the face of a challenge (or a “wall”). We do develop social skills. The problem is that it’s with other “nerds,” not the average, which is a detriment later, for some. In an IQ based learning environment, those with high IQ’s are often competitive and want to be the best at many things. Average people don’t share that spirit. For me, that has been the most difficult part to comprehend: why everyone else isn’t competing to be the best, or at least “their” best. Being conditioned to compete is not so good in, say, a marriage or as a parent. This aspect of my conditioning is my kryptonite because it’s difficult to turn off and accept what I consider mediocrity.
I actually met David few years ago at a conference where I first heard about The Sports gene. The book is great!
I am also very happy to hear about Range.. as a design generalist I totally agree with this concept and I'm looking forward to reading it : )
it’s a great read. i was recommended it as part of my portfolio for my master’s degree and it remains one of my favorite “textbooks.”
The way I like to think of it is like with sports in elementary/middle school. In elementary school and middle school, the best athlete was usually the tallest and strongest kid. And the tallest and strongest kid was the one who just growed quicker/earlier than everyone else. However, after a few years when everyone mostly stopped growing, that kid who dominated back in elementary and middle school usually ended up just being average height strength and not that talented at sports. Same is with child prodigies and geniuses. Usually we see some kid whos like a human calculator or knows all the facts about history, and we compare them to others their age, when what they are truly saying is something most adults can do, and do even better. Its like those "child prodigies" just grew faster than everyone else like that elementary/middle school athlete.
Also as you get older, the talent pool increases. Someone may be the best in their school, but not the best in their district, state, region, etc
I got rid of all my worries because of this video. It's true that nobody has any idea where they're really going at first(this should be defined by person themselves when time comes), thus I will just continue focusing on today and learning as well as I can. Not caring how well others do and so on.
A disciplined and driven polymath with a great memory and creative spark makes the best employee.
Who are the greatest polymaths of our modern time?
@@rashedulkabir6227 Check out the book: "The Polymath: a cultural history from Leonardo da Vinci to Susan Sontag" by Peter Burke,
Yale University Press, 2020 for many (500) Western examples.
Ye, if only they didn't make up 0.001% of human race.
And the best entrepeneur
The Game Boy truly was a magnum opus. I understand fascinating developments tower miles over it now, but when I heard that ding from the opening screen, I got a couple of chills and it was nice. Also everything else he said was cool and stuff.
I've worked in 5 completely different fields, none of which have any connection to my actual qualification, or each other. I've only now just realised that what I learned in all these seemingly random jobs, plus what I learned in college, have given me a huge advantage in my current field. I originally applied for a job in this area but no one wanted to hire me because I didn't have the paper qualifications. 15 job applications, 6 interviews, no offers. So I said fuck it and started my own business doing exactly what I was rejected for, and I'm doing pretty good now.
Awesome. It would be great if you expanded on this more. I'm in a similar boat. How old are you now and what is your business?
I get chills whenever I hear so many correct things in a row. For the last part though, I think you should make long term goals that are rooted in the knowledge that progress is incremental and daily. They say 18 months until a habit is established fully, so I think long term goals should be a list of habits you want to be automatic. And this comes in two forms, exploration of what you want to do, and following through on the habits you find most important and making them daily.
I'm not sure that I agree with David's deductions. Hiroshi Yamauchi was a generalist that had to wear many hats as the president of a large company. He was a generalist. But he also knew his limitations and gave the project over to someone who was already a specialist in a domain, Gunpei Yokoi, to systematize and develop the GameBoy. That seems to imply that it's the Generalists that are able to recognize and formulate sweeping opportunities, but it's the role of the Specialist to bring it to reality. Doesn't that seem like a Ying/Yang relationship where neither can flourish without the other?
He mentions it in his book, its edited down for timesake in this video, but he doesn't disparage specialists.
Although lateral thinking is important, Im not convinced that lateral thinkers in general beat specialists. Its also a little too convenient for us that are non-prodigies to make this claim; although it gives hope, it gives us a rationalization (in the sense of an excuse), so be wary. As always, balance is needed.
This is the comment I was looking for.
Is it lateral thinkers vs specialists, or is it fake prodigies vs real geniuses?
Most "prodigies" we see are just kids who can retell facts, or pick up patterns. That's great, but it doesn't show the sort of thinking you need to succeed in any field. Mathematicians don't just calculate things, scientists don't just recall facts.
Most of the great geniuses that have existed have branched into many fields, worked on many problems that are completely unrelated to one another
I am analyst by trade and one of my competitive advantage is that I'm a generalist that can use multiple different type of tools and able to merge data. Not a master of many other tools of jack of "most" trades. Helped me a lot by giving me choices and being flexible.
It sucks early on as a generalist until later you get more tools in your belt...
Generalist here (that sometimes overwhelmed by too many things to taken care of). Thank you very much for the insight, just in time i need this kind of advice ❤
I needed to hear this. Great topic, great delivery, and now I’ll be checking out his book.
Like my mother always said, "don't just be smart, you have to be crafty"
Interesting to see the game/toy design example. It is something I've been advocating for years in game development. Too many people are specialists and narrow focused instead of understanding more broad views that give more unique and useful perspectives.
I've worked under geniuses as well as divergent thinkers and can tell you that it's not about how smart or how revolutionary your thinking is. In most office environments, you've got to manage people's egos as well as your own. The geniuses and divergent thinkers I've worked under were so self-assured of their achievements and self-assured they're always right but that's not the case because I saw how they tried pitching their ideas to their bosses and not getting the recognition. And also it seemed that none of their contemporaries were onboard with their ideas. Most people operate at what I call the "operational level" - this is where common sense rules and how most people see the world. Geniuses and divergent thinkers operate with "ideals" - how a perfect world should be and very far ahead - most people are unable to see that far. There will always be this communication mismatch.
I was a gifted kid in my pre-teens but as my parents were not rich, my talents withered away in my teens as I studied at an ordinary school with ordinary programs and I wasn't in top class. I still made it to the university where I was surrounded by geniuses and had to keep up - but the benefit of that was interacting with them and empathizing with them, knowing how they operate and taht is why I am able to see why they don't make it in life despite their supposed smarts.
To add on, geniuses and divergent thinkers have a disdain for tasks and ideas that don't make sense to them, because these tasks are sub-optimal or they are repetitive or they don't require them to think. And they are either vocal about it or make their disdain very obvious. To me, these tasks are what brings in money and I'd do my job well even if it didn't make sense, as long as me doing my work makes somebody happy. Geniuses and divergent thinkers seem not to know how to make people happy - like I mentioned, all they care about are "ideals" - how the perfect world should operate.
And just today I gave more slides than expected, as it was a draft and the excess slides could easily be removed, no problem. My boss who I regard as both genius and divergent thinker - showed displeasure over such a small thing - precisely my point - they don't like it when people appear not to be thinking through things, to them looking stupid is like a shot to the ego. And that they don't hide their disdain - they tend not to know how their words or actions make others feel and affect their environment.
From 17 to now at 23 y/o Ive had DOZENS of jobs from fast food, moving companies, logistics, US MILITARY just to name a few and ive never really stayed anywhere for more than 6 months, my first year or 2 working i was just immature but it turned into not working for money, but for knowledge. This period is perfectly explained in the video as i am now an entrepreneur about to open my own business.
You stayed in military for less than 6 months ??
Doing what ?
" i am now an entrepreneur about to open my own business." So you are nothing right now?
@@ko-Daegu thats the only "job" that technically lasted 2 years but it was still me that chose to get out when i could
"You should compare yourself to yourself yesterday." That's absolutely right.
Brilliant piece. I've become a generalist due to doing lots of different things across a multitude of industries. Among my management consultancy clients I am well known for dropping into new experiences with initially no idea of what the problem is but then apply all of the experience I have gained across my eclectic career (now 30 years) to understand the problem and establish practical solutions for it. I teach this to my children and colleagues. The advantage of this approach is that I get lots of interesting work. The disadvantage kiss not knowing what you might be doing next van be daunting and sometimes the imposter syndrome feeling creeps in. You are there in a domain you don't understand (initially) and you need to help them solve their problem. What I do find quite alot though is that problems across industry are often very similar so it's rare that I'm completely stumped. Education needs to catch up with this idea - not to converge to specialism but to help kids broaden their knowledge and experience and encourage them to continue their curiosity into adulthood.
Sounds more like those parents are trying to live vicariously through their children.
yeah, you should study till your brain toasted so someday you can buy daddy and mommy a big Mansion.
That’s a good way think, I like to always broaden my knowledge. It’s very useful to be good at a lot of things, without being the best.
Thank you so much. What he said in the end was exactly what i needed to hear. Everyone always expects you to see the future and know what you want to be and then become it , but how am i supposed to know that when i don't even know how the world works or is. Short term it is. Be better each day. Step by Step
I like how he makes the point that learning slowly is better than learning quickly, then at the end of the video Big Think says "Get smarter faster" to advertise themselves
The problem with this is that only a select few can truly be good at deep divergent thinking. What you'll often see instead are people spreading themselves thin, picking up superficial knowledge (or memory) in many domains and attempting to just make use of it without any deep insight. You get to a point where it feigns intelligence because even fewer people have the breadth and depth to see past the seemingly divergent thinker to reveal what is actually a broad memorizer.
Let's separate the *users* of various information from those that *create* that information.
@@LaNina_DJ Well said. Sadly, most people won't even understand this difference as it seems like the world is dominated by memorizers.
I hasten to undo the damage of over-valuing these so-called "generalists" as any kind of intellectual authority since they only actually consume and utilise innovations, as opposed to innovating themselves.
I think this same person has done a ted talk for "Why falling behind is getting ahead?". I can say that video has its fair share which allowed me to put back the exam results, through which I had to get a medical college and retry something new to learn something new. To have a width in the knowledge that pumped up my programming journey. I am enjoying learning something new every day. I do feel that the world is wicked and one has to replan every day for coping with that.
Your last line hits hard, especially in the context of how things are in our country. Merit no longer exists here, so us savarnas gotta look for better ways to move forward.
Wow was this video a grate help. Definitely going to read his book. If just these couple minutes have made me really think about the way my kids are being home schooled and the way I grew up I can only imagine how much it can help reading through. It truly makes sense
This video gonna be one of my favourite videos infact in top of that list. Cuz finally I get to hear or more like a reassurance that what I'm doing is ok and I can continue on it. Otherwise all the time I criticise myself whenever I feel urge to try this and that. I gonna become like - Jack of all but master of none. And it cringed me sometimes. But really really thanks to you
This is hugely important to know! It's the 'relax, you'll get there' moment, spread out across the open ranges of one's life. Speed can be a killer.
Compelling enough content and great editing (finally). Better than combining stock videos with sound effects. More engaging. I might give Range a read now.
An extremely underrated thing with talent in general is that it's like puberty. Some people hit it and it flowers in them super early in life wayyy before their peers, others take much longer than the standard time and yet can end their live's being far more proficient and acclaimed in said talent field. This applies even more so to fields where the objective 'best' doesn't really exist - Philosophy, Music, Painting, Acting etc.
Very interesting video. Makes me think of polymaths and whether the diversity of fields they go into actually helps them succeed in every field rather than present a challenge.
I have always been smart and told I was smart, by teachers and my peers. I was definitely encouraged to specialize and I think that ended up demoralizing me, as the more I tried to focus on one area the more I felt I was fated to be Jack of all trades, but master of none. Maybe that's why I quit university after my first semester (before I acquired any debt), and ended up in my current job. It pays ok but it isn't stimulating.
This video really makes me want to do more with what I have. It makes me feel like maybe I could be successful with my mostly mediocre but broad set of skills/knowledge.
I don't know what I'm going to do about that though.
This was such a great watch. I’m gonna need some time to digest and think about what he said.
One of the most valuable videos on CZcams that I ever seen. Good work, Big Think!
I started loving drawing comics with friends at 7 and now I do 3d modeling as a hobby, those drawing skills really helped me about being picky in body proportions.
btw I think I've watched a veritasium video similar to this
Crazy, i just dropped out of college, was about to get my degree in a year, year and a half. I was stufying food engineering, people who graduated told me u donr get paid well until 3-4years experience, tried looking for jobs, no one wanted even to interview me because i have no experience. Now im gonna do coding, i feel this is my best life decision, im 24 living in Uruguay btw.
Good luck bro! I'm switching from my field of classical music to coding, I'm a launch school student right now, 26 in Texas
The only person I'm trying to beat, is who I was yesterday.
This has always been my own "wishy washy" learning philosophy.
Small steps overtime are fantastically more manageable than huge jumps.
when the import of linear catches up with the three dimensions of the material reality we find ourselves in... Starting again at one. One as related to the whole. One human family is an awesome place to start. thanks for your credible offerings!
I've succeeded as a computer programmer mostly by guessing. Yeah. I lost my memory in 1977. I spent two years forgetting things until I got me a notepad and carried it everywhere, writing down what I could of conversations with the boss as soon as I left his presence. I never told any boss that I had no memory. I succeeded by doing three things - 1 - I made massive amounts of notes so I could look up what I was supposed to know; 2 - I left every job after 2 years because I knew they would count on me remembering what I'd done in the prior years. And finally, I guessed. Given any situation, I would take the information I had, and figure out what must be the correct answer. I got away with this most of the time, and had a decent career. Oh, yeah, I'm still working, at 76. 'Cause it's fun. And meanwhile I'm also writing a book. So yeah, it's possible to beat a genius... if he doesn't try. Pfft. I could beat anyone with one brain tied behind my back, and I did! I'm proud of what I've done in spite of that handicap.
Sorry, I said "writing a book", when what I really meant was that my hobby is reading vast volumes of material and then writing a book based on that information. That's my hobby, not just writing. Although I did write 3 or 4 screenplays as a previous hobby...You can't keep a great mind down, it's always curious.
"Remember kids the only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down" - Adam Savage
I don't trust my memory. I only ever remember stuff for more than a week if I put great effort into learning how it worked by breaking it down and building it back up. Everything else is quickly forgotten. Someone in this past year encouraged me to start note taking in markdown. I keep backups of my digital notes, and I can easily query a search of them to find any information that I have written down. I also find that just outlining stuff simplifies my thought process because I cannot hold a clear picture in my head.
However, I usually am wrong when I try and guess things haha.
Love this type of empowering, wise content, thanks Big Think. :)
I love lateral thinking to me it brings creativity and excitement into almost every job/activity
A much needed video,Thank you
Grateful man❤️
Kudos to the graphics team first fall, good job 🤟🏻
Honestly I think the specialty trajectory is great, I would’ve preferred to have taken the “normal” route of education, it would’ve made a lot of things a lot easier.
But for many of us, life happens, it’s like one big wicked learning environment and you just try to take the nuggets of useful info and practicing environments that you DO have access to and try to craft it into a hireable skillset the best you can so you can take care of at least your basic needs, your family, and hopefully (ideally) something more
I grew up really loving math and science. I worked as a mover for a while until I became a residential painter.
I progressed in my painting company faster than anyone had before. A big part was from having a mentor ( I managed to put up with an excellent painter who had a record of arguing with everyone that worked with him) and the other part I believe was my unorthodox background.
My skills in the lab taught me to be very meticulous with my records, contracts, prices and written communication. My moving skills gave me excellent balance, stamina, coordination and efficiency in moving my tools, products and loading my van. I've even utilized what I remember about torque, evaporation and static forces to help me. I think if you're curious enough you can draw analogies between almost anything.
Thank you! Very concise and relaxing explanation, honestly.
That was a great message towards the end.
Depends on how you define "genius". Most of those people that are child prodigies just had well managed parenting at a young age, but people raised like that never learn critical thinking because the perfect path has already been laid out for them.
This is a very reassuring message to someone such as myself, a jack-of-all -trades. Thanks for sharing your perspective with us ✌️
Great video. Super fresh take, extremely enlightening. Not the clickbait for which I have recently come to know CZcams to be a haven. 10/10
That's it. This was the reassurance i needed all along. Thank you so much.
I think what made Einstein what he is was not his iq but his ability to think in want weird ways and outside the box, it combined ability to be abstract and being a genius.
I think this is why cutting edge knowledge in physics and astronomy is often described as being in 'crisis'. Advances have stalled because our education and testing schemes filter for a singular type of intellect. Fast thinkers who have exceptional memorization skills. This has been the case since at least Einstein. He famously couldn't land a teaching position, and ended up working in a patent office. He may be characterized as a genius, but he really was a divergent thinker.
Read this book when it first came out beginning of COVID. Best advice is picking the next step in one's development that increases options for the step after, and so on.
This was really encouraging. Thank you!