Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Chapter 2

Chapters 3-5

Chapters 6-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapter 12 and Conclusion

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Themes

The Power of Diverse Experience

Throughout Range, Epstein deliberately gathers stories of individuals working in a variety of fields and individuals who in some way or another have drawn on diversity in their work. In this way, Epstein both promotes diversity as an asset and attempts to exemplify it through the examples chosen for his book. Diversity works at several levels within Range, encompassing a wealth of identities, abilities, and experiences.

For instance, when describing the experience of influential leader Frances Hesselbein, Epstein notes she did not enter her career until her 50s. While hyperspecialization would suggest an individual must begin training for leadership beginning at a much earlier age, examples like Hesselbein’s show there is value in the points of view of all stages of life. Moreover, Epstein implies, experience gathered over time has value, even when that experience seems only indirectly related. Similarly, Chapter 3’s discussion of musicians notes that training on multiple instruments can be deeply enriching in contrast to the expectations of hyperspecialized training, which assumes that intensive, focused practice on a single instrument is the only path toward mastery. The fact that the figlie del coro in Venice were trained on multiple instruments is further evidence in support of diversity.

Those with the ability to think from what Epstein calls an “outside” point of view present an additional type of diversity. One notable example is Jill Viles, who determined that she and Olympic sprinter Priscilla Lopes-Schliep shared related genetic disorders, a fact that Lopes-Schliep’s expert physicians and trainers had not realized and which many would have simply not believed possible. For Epstein, the points of view that people like Viles bring to bear on difficult problems, creative work, and innovation demonstrate the power of diverse thinking and capabilities from a range of people.

Diversity, Epstein implies, should be a celebrated part of the path of any individual invested in creativity, innovation, and problem solving. One’s path can include many stops, starts, failures, and detours (as exemplified by the story of Vincent van Gogh told in Chapter 6). In fact, Epstein declares that this celebration is an integral part of the purpose of Range: “The question I set out to explore was how to capture and cultivate the power of breadth, diverse experience, and interdisciplinary exploration within systems that increasingly demand hyperspecialization, and would have you decide what you should be before first figuring out who you are” (289). One’s path does not have to be linear, one does not have to fit the profile of others, and one is free to think across fields of inquiry and creativity—and the results can be all the richer for it.

Amateurism as a Balance to Expertise

Range certainly sets out to dismantle preconceived ideas about specialization and to throw support behind the idea of generalization—a fact immediately clear from the book’s subtitle, Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. On the other hand, Epstein advises readers to “remember that there is nothing inherently wrong with specialization. We all specialize to one degree or another, at some point or other” (290). In effect, Epstein suggests that both expertise and generalism (or amateurism) have their role, and one can balance to lead to more successful results.

Nevertheless, the “cult” of specialization is so strong that Epstein works deliberately and forcefully to break down the notion of expertise. Most directly, Chapter 10 (“Fooled by Expertise”) dwells on the way expertise can lead problem-solvers astray. It discusses individuals like Paul Ehrlich and Julian Simon, who according to Epstein made mistaken (and opposing) predictions because each were too entrenched in their own expertise. Chapter 11 (“Learning to Drop Your Familiar Tools”) follows up with additional examples of expertise gone awry, such as the events and oversights that led up to the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.

These examples echo what Epstein writes early in Range: “In the most devilishly wicked learning environments, experience will reinforce the exact wrong lessons” (21). He implies that there is not so much a problem with what experts know but rather with the patterns and habits that restrict what they see. A kind of hubris or dangerous pride can result, in which expertise causes one to be so sure they understand something they fail to see when they do not understand it. Likewise, as the Challenger example suggests, poor organizational structures can elevate expertise while preventing healthy dissent.

Amateurs do not have the specialized knowledge of experts, but they can bring fresh eyes and a willingness to explore and try new things to the table. What they may lack in specialized knowledge and the pressure to conform, they can make up through passion and exploration, as the figlie del coro did in 18th-century Venice. Likewise, Frances Hesselbein did not begin her career as an “expert” leader but rather had the willingness and passion to step into an opportunity. Still, given that Epstein acknowledges expertise has its place, what he ultimately defends is a balance between expertise and amateurism. In the best scenarios, experts can maintain an open mind and leverage the power of an amateur perspective, as physical biochemist Oliver Smithies did via his “Saturday morning experiments” (Chapter 12), or chemist Alph Bingham, who crowdsourced solutions when working for Eli Lilly and who continues to do so through the InnoCentive venture he founded.

Thinking Laterally to Enhance Creativity

Epstein explains the concept of lateral thinking when discussing the work of Nintendo leader Gunpei Yokoi, who promoted the practice of “lateral thinking with withered technology” (193). Epstein defines lateral thinking as “the reimagining of information in new contexts, including the drawing together of seemingly disparate concepts or domains that can give old ideas new uses (193). In this sense, lateral thinking is a form of what Epstein calls “outside thinking” elsewhere. He explains how Yokoi excelled at seeing new, popular uses for technologies that were already well understood instead of always seeking the latest technological developments. For instance, Yokoi used a relatively outmoded dot-matrix LCD screen for the incredibly popular Game Boy and resisted the impulse to equip it with a newer but (at the time) less robust color screen.

Within Range, the principle of lateral thinking applies even when it is not mentioned explicitly. For example, when explaining how physical biochemist Oliver Smithies developed gel electrophoresis by playing around with starches in one of his “Saturday morning experiments,” the book shows that Smithies successfully took an example from one field (starches) and applied it to another, unrelated one (DNA extraction). Similarly, when Andy Ouderkirk created highly reflective plastic films while working at 3M, he was inspired by the iridescent wings of butterflies, which once again shows how insights from one field can be applied to another even when there is no direct connection. Going back into history, Epstein also shows that polymath Johannes Keppler was devoted to thinking in analogies and used them when articulating fundamental principles of the theory of gravity by comparing gravity to light, magnetism, currents, and other forces as he came to understand it better.

Epstein quotes psychologist Dedre Gentner, who theorizes “our ability to think relationally is one of the reasons we’re running the planet,” thus summarizing the importance of thinking laterally (103). To argue that thinking relationally, laterally, and across domains is fundamental to human creativity and the success of humanity as a species is certainly to see this ability as an asset. Epstein underscores this point, noting that “mental meandering and personal experimentation are sources of power, and head starts are overrated” as he concludes Range with a summary of its most salient points (291). One of the key takeaways readers can receive from Epstein’s book is that thinking in free, explorative ways is part of the fundamental toolkit of artists, researchers, leaders, and any who hope to leverage the power of creativity to solve problems, develop new works, or make improvements.