Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

David Epstein’s Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World is the most insightful book that I have read this year. I saw Epstein’s work recommended by Bill Gates as a must-read. I’ve found over the years that almost all of Gates’ picks are superb. Range is the type of book that contains valuable lessons and information for almost anyone concerned with dynamic thinking in the modern world.

The crux of Epstein’s book is quite simple. Americans reside in a society that stresses the importance of starting early and going deep into a specialization. This could be mastering the violin by starting a child off at an early age. At the same time, this ethic encourages high school students to select a career path early and stick with it, no matter what. Broadly though we now have a problem. Too many people are becoming specialists and lack the type of dynamic, outside-the-box thinking required to solve problems in a complex society that seems to increasingly require interdisciplinary knowledge. This interdisciplinary knowledge is what Epstein refers to as multi-domain thinking, or outside-in thinking. Throughout the text Epstein cites numerous examples of individuals who rejected specialization and became “late-starters” in what would become their field of expertise. The most interesting example, perhaps, was Vincent van Gogh who became a multi-domain failure in his pursuit of multiple career pathways before eventually discovering a talent for painting.

More importantly, these generalists prove capable of solving the most entrenched problems faced in many American industries precisely because they draw on information from relevant or unrelated domains to develop novel ideas and theories.

There is a considerable amount of information packed into a relatively short book and Epstein’s clarity of writing hooks the reader from the beginning. I read nearly the entire book in one sitting, while taking notes on certain sections that I found beneficial to how I approach high school education or my own philosophy on cultivating a generalist approach to life.

I was also reminded while reading this on Laozi’s Tao Te Ching . Laozi (if he was indeed a real person) emphasized the importance of leaders, and specifically those who found themselves presiding over a Chinese imperial dynasty, becoming generalists. The text referred to “specialists” as “vessels” who were useful within their specific domain, but of little worth when leading an entire people. Leaders, Laozi urged, should become like the “uncarved block” and cultivate “The Way” (Tao) by mimicking the principles of water. In that way the leader could remain an ingenious thinker who maintained the integrity of an empire by refusing the allure of any specific specialization that might constrain the range of his thinking. All of this is to say that many of the ideas and principles presented so lucidly by Epstein in this volume have deep philosophical roots in numerous traditions in the world.

Highly recommended!

Find this review - and some more - on my website here.
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Started with a tightly-knit structure, but faltered at the end. The last few chapters were a slog to get through - mostly because of numerous "business-class" style case studies.

Main takeaway? Other than the central idea around which the book revolves (and succinctly mentioned as the book subtitle too), the idea of interleaving is what struck me the most. I had already read about this particular method in Michael Nielsen's brilliant post on Anki (Augmenting Long-term Memory) and it was interesting to read about it formally in the book. Interleaving is the technique of mixing up your learning in varied environments so that it makes some unusual connections that you'd normally won't think about - and might come in handy when you are faced with a problem in a new environment you haven't previously encountered.

In the end, "Range" suffers from the same deficiencies that a lot of other pop-psychology/self-management books suffer from - too many anecdotal evidence and case studies. A reviewer here on Goodreads summed it the best - "Finally, Range is designed to appeal to people who are already skeptical of specialization/ enthusiastic about generalized skillsets. I worry that some of the appreciation of this book is just a soothing exercise in confirmation bias for generalists."

Still, I'd recommend it to people who (like me) are skeptical about their tendency to dabble in too many disparate fields at the same time - this might be the soothing pill that you were looking for.