Generalism vs. Specialization

There is no doubt that our world would be a much better place to live if we used our resources to educate young people across a wider sphere of disciplines.

Until the 17th or 18th Century, there was very little specialization in Western civilization, perhaps the best example of which was da Vinci: artist, mathematician, and scientist.  Today, the idea that a particle physicist or a quantum chemist would be a top landscape artist or concert pianist is laughable.

This is the result of the explosion of human knowledge.  The volume of content doubles every two years.  Half of the information we have today didn’t exist two years ago.

Be this as it may, I continue to believe in the value of a liberal arts education.  You’ll have the rest of your life to sell real estate or write beer advertisements.  Now, take a few years to learn how to think clearly, to write well, and to ponder the great questions that have been with us since the first person looked into the night sky in wonder.