Specialist or Generalist?

[Upfromtheashes]

Hey Fellow Bums -

I was curious about peoples opinions on specializing in certain skills or spiritual traditions or mastering one or the other -

Drawbacks for me of specialization include stagnation, obsession, narrow minded thinking etc -

However there seems to be something to be said for mastering something especially in regards to finances and the "real world"

 

Right Now I find myself wanting to do and learn a ton about everything - Not only spiritual traditions but it could be something like music -

You know I want to sing/ I want to dance / I want to play guitar -

And well learning one skill well definitely has implications for other skills -

But it also seems easy to get scattered as well

 

I am thinking like work on something intensely for 2 weeks or so at least but you know I am having so much fun learning about lots of stuff

[Sarnyn]

Hey Fellow Bums -

I was curious about peoples opinions on specializing in certain skills or spiritual traditions or mastering one or the other -

Drawbacks for me of specialization include stagnation, obsession, narrow minded thinking etc -

However there seems to be something to be said for mastering something especially in regards to finances and the "real world"

 

Right Now I find myself wanting to do and learn a ton about everything - Not only spiritual traditions but it could be something like music -

You know I want to sing/ I want to dance / I want to play guitar -

And well learning one skill well definitely has implications for other skills -

But it also seems easy to get scattered as well

 

I am thinking like work on something intensely for 2 weeks or so at least but you know I am having so much fun learning about lots of stuff

My opinion is that it depends upon what kind of relationship you want to have with other people. Somebody who has a lot of knowledge spanning many disciplines, is somebody who makes a much better communicator, and facilitator of organized collaborative efforts. Compare this to the president verses the member of his cabinet. The president is much less knowledgeable about any specific specialty of his cabinet members, yet he is far more capable are connecting those various specialties together into a functioning system, because of his broader, generalized knowledge.

 

However, it takes true commitment and focus to penetrate the deepest levels of understanding of any given field of knowledge, and that specialized insight can then be related to others by way of simile and metaphor. It is sometimes said that the entire field of possible human understanding is contained in a single mustard seed.

 

So it just depends upon your predilection, and the kind of role you are comfortable playing in the world, and these are merely matters of personal expression.

 

So I would say, do what feels natural to you, in accordance with whatever goals have naturally arisen for you, that you feel compelled to allocate importance to.

[Taomeow]

The first taoist book I ever read was Scholar Warrior by Deng Ming-Dao, and I was blown away by his proposition that taoists know subjects they're amateurs in better than specialists in the field. After a while spent with taoist arts, sciences and practices I realize they know not necessarily "more" but definitely "better" -- if you have the master key, the locked doors are there only if you choose not to unlock them. Anytime you want to, you can. Including the doors "specialists" don't have keys to, or don't even suspect exist.

 

So I would encourage anyone to aim for "specialist" in taoist subjects and especially practices -- as many as possible. They are all connected, knowledge and experience gained in one of them is transferable to others. That's why some taoists practiced the sword and others, calligraphy -- then switched and found themselves proficient in the seemingly (but not really) unrelated art. Some wrote poetry only to find they've written alchemical treatises -- and vice versa. (The classic instructions in taijiquan are "Songs" -- of considerable beauty.) Some Chinese doctors treated their patients with feng shui, because they were able to trace "dampness" as a symptom in the patient's body to a damp basement and a clogged sewer in his house. (When I was staying at a friend's house a few years ago, I noticed that she constantly and obsessively cleaned her stove, trying to keep it pristine and shiny, while generally not paying much attention to the condition of the rest of the house. I suspected a Toxic Fire disturbance, which I thought she sensed inside but was trying to remedy outside -- with no expertise as to how to do it, just going on an unconscious feeling that "the place of fire needs attention." Several years later she developed MS, a Toxic Heat condition.)

[ryansmith]

My teacher used to say:

 

"A specialist is someone who knows more and more about less and less until eventually they know everything about nothing"

"A generalist is someone who knows less and less about more and more until eventually they know nothing about everything"

[Sarnyn]

My teacher used to say:

 

"A specialist is someone who knows more and more about less and less until eventually they know everything about nothing"

"A generalist is someone who knows less and less about more and more until eventually they know nothing about everything"

[doc benway]

My teacher used to say:

 

"A specialist is someone who knows more and more about less and less until eventually they know everything about nothing"

"A generalist is someone who knows less and less about more and more until eventually they know nothing about everything"

I once stopped a guy and asked for directions. He looked at me with bloodshot eyes and said,

"Man, I don't know nuthin' 'bout nuthin'!"... and walked away.

Not sure if he was a specialist or a generalist,.... definitely a Daoist!

[doc benway]

On a more serious note, I think that your personality will determine to what degree you specialize or generalize in things. I have a tendency to get very deep into things that interest me, pathologically so at times, but then I get tired of them and move on to something else.

 

I'm not sure either approach has an advantage in the grand scheme of things but in a limited sense there is a difference. If you choose to be a performance artist, martial artist, or a surgery you'd better be prepared to specialize. If you are interested in politics, history, philosophy, counseling, and so forth, a wide base of knowledge will serve you well.