The more informed we get about our surrounding, our planet, science, genes and laws of nature the more isolated we get with that information. In today’s age of super specialization we know nothing about the expertise of our neighbours. It takes up so much energy for us to just gather the vast amount of information required to understand our core problem that we have lost the luxury of indulging our minds in the pursuit of an alternative concept in any appreciable depth.
When I was a kid in school, general science was fascinating, engaging, enduring and totally consuming. I was not only interested in the planets in the solar system, but how the light bulb worked and what was cross pollination. I wanted to know it all; I had the little bits of information that occupied my small childish brains. As I grew up, the amount of information required to grasp a particular interest of mine, started taking longer than I thought. I had assumed that as you know more about things, you will know more about more of it faster. But I was completely wrong.
Today, my one Ph.D. topic is all consuming. I am paranoid about my level of knowledge; it keeps me reading deep into the night, just to be able to grasp a few sentences mentioned in a peripherally important paper. However, interestingly, these peripherally important papers links up so many different streams of knowledge together that it is as fascinating today as it was 20 years ago in my general science text.
I had been complaining about my lack of time and inclination to read other subjects for a while now, but slowly it has made me realise that trying to go deep; also makes you go wider. It’s just the perspective we take.
This cross disciplinary understanding along with super specialization is what the current need in our world is. The value of a specialised expert almost exponentially increases if he or she has an understanding of aspects that may influence his work, but lies beyond his core understanding. With the emergence of a complicated society, furthered by a fast moving global community, cross disciplinary knowledge will provide many solutions to such a dynamic world. Therein lies many unsolved puzzles, therein may lay their answers. But if two scientists in adjoining rooms never ever pick up each others publications they will not be able to come together and use their intricately constructed worlds as levers for each other and we may get stuck in a traffic jam until someone steps out and decides to unweave the mesh of knowledge.
Before the motorways gets jammed, maybe its time to stop competing so hard and to look around and see the possibilities. Corporates should bring together such amalgamations, universities should set up fluid departments and individuals should de-cocoon-ize themselves.
When I was a kid in school, general science was fascinating, engaging, enduring and totally consuming. I was not only interested in the planets in the solar system, but how the light bulb worked and what was cross pollination. I wanted to know it all; I had the little bits of information that occupied my small childish brains. As I grew up, the amount of information required to grasp a particular interest of mine, started taking longer than I thought. I had assumed that as you know more about things, you will know more about more of it faster. But I was completely wrong.
Today, my one Ph.D. topic is all consuming. I am paranoid about my level of knowledge; it keeps me reading deep into the night, just to be able to grasp a few sentences mentioned in a peripherally important paper. However, interestingly, these peripherally important papers links up so many different streams of knowledge together that it is as fascinating today as it was 20 years ago in my general science text.
I had been complaining about my lack of time and inclination to read other subjects for a while now, but slowly it has made me realise that trying to go deep; also makes you go wider. It’s just the perspective we take.
This cross disciplinary understanding along with super specialization is what the current need in our world is. The value of a specialised expert almost exponentially increases if he or she has an understanding of aspects that may influence his work, but lies beyond his core understanding. With the emergence of a complicated society, furthered by a fast moving global community, cross disciplinary knowledge will provide many solutions to such a dynamic world. Therein lies many unsolved puzzles, therein may lay their answers. But if two scientists in adjoining rooms never ever pick up each others publications they will not be able to come together and use their intricately constructed worlds as levers for each other and we may get stuck in a traffic jam until someone steps out and decides to unweave the mesh of knowledge.
Before the motorways gets jammed, maybe its time to stop competing so hard and to look around and see the possibilities. Corporates should bring together such amalgamations, universities should set up fluid departments and individuals should de-cocoon-ize themselves.
1 comment:
i have always been indecisive and figured that if i chose one topic to study in depth i was denying the others, but being paralysed with indecision won't get you anywhere!
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