Why Generalists Beat Specialists
The Jack of All Trades does not mean "master of none", it means you are able to do any trade. In reality you can't have enough time to become a master of ALL of them, but that doesn't mean you haven't mastered a few at least. Let alone one (i.e. the "T-Shaped" person).
People often combine the use of JoAT, Generalist, and Polymath. However they do mean different things, and in my The Multidisciplinary Spectrum I talk about how they are a path TO Polymathy.
These videos touch on this topic of generalists in society, how they are perceived (hence the references to JoATs), and how they often do more for society than specialists.
Check out the related video to this post:
Generalists are a part of Human Nature
Having a wide range of knowledge, adaptability, and the ability to learn new things more easily.
It is not as simple as saying "one is better than the other".
There are use cases for both types of people, especially in the world of the Digital Renaissance. The issue that we want to bring up here is, "who is managing?", and while Zendicay brings up the management of society. I want to also make the example of the corporate workplace.
In the zeitgeist it is specialist managing specialist, and forcing generalists to narrow down or pick just one thing of their many things. That is where the issue starts.
Not only should we do the opposite, and encourage generalists to do more. As it would not only help the company, but let the generalist person thrive as well.
On top of that, if you have a team of specialists, then having another specialist lead them is asking to fail at innovation and adaptation. As you should have the generalist be the leader, as they would more likely have an overlap of skills with the specialists on the team, which then would lead to more synergy (even if the generalist is or is not as deeply knowledgeable on it), and it would help balance things out if a team member is out for the day.
Specialization is simply an adaptation to the Industrial Revolution
I love this line from the video: "There's a common misconception that, generalists are another way of saying someone who is not good at anything." Not only is that false, but it harkens back to the Jack of All Trades idea. Remember before I mentioned how people think these terms are synonyms, but they're NOT really.
Me and Zendicay explain it as the generalists have a real and competent understanding of their fields. I like to think of it as a middle of the road, and leading into deeper specialties. Whereas a polymath is 3 or more areas of specialist level expertise.
The jack of all trades is a bit of a different story, as it is ostracized for being "too wide", as most people MISQUOTE the full phrase: "Jack of all trades, master of none, - which is where most people stop but it continues - but oftentimes Better than a master of one." Which has a much more positive connotation.
I also think Jack of All Trades is more of a dozen to 15 areas of knowledge, at a beginner's or adept levels. In which case they narrow down to 5-7 and get more middle of the road (as a generalist). Then when they find the 3 areas of deep knowledge, they are a polymath.
While I agree, I also disagree, as we do have a Need for Specialists. I just think that it is over glorified, and overstated of How much "we NEED" them.
This quote was in the description of the video, and I really wanted to share it here too.
"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. Specialization is for insects." - Robert A Heinlein
In this line of thinking it really does paint the picture that a human is far more capable than we think about. We have normalized the basics of parenthood, hunting for food, and being able to build things with our hands. That we forget that each one of those things are a trait/trade/skill in of itself.
Specialization happens only in some cases in nature, like the Ants, as it helps keep the cohesiveness of the hive balanced. We as humans are too entropic by nature, so we create systems to balance that out. Hence the creation of businesses, non-profits, even governments, etc.