The topic stems from the well known proverb “Jack of all trades but master of none”. Here it has been used in a derogatory sense. So what should be preferred by us – being master of one or none? There can be no definite or right answer to this question but there can be endless arguments for the answer!!
Are the days of Da Vinci dead? Is it possible to be a world-class painter, engineer, scientist, and more? Da vinci, Benjamin Franklin and Arya Bhatta were all great men who defied this proverb and were master of many subjects. Few would argue that DaVinci should have stuck to one subject.
In recent times specialization is encouraged and it is said he who specializes survives and thrives. One of the most common questions we are asked as children is what we want to be as adults. At this point itself we can see that the society has planted its seed of boundary. We are conditioned to believe we are to be confined to the mastery of one trade .It seems to be quite a stupid notion if we think about it carefully !It is said we use a miserably small fraction – about 10 % of our brain .A specialist imprisons himself/herself and has blinders on everything else making the person very one dimensional and stagnant while the curious multidimensional generalist can enjoy the process of achieving excellence while finding the few things he is uniquely suited to dominate. Being a jack of all trades will help the narrow mind envisage a much bigger picture and will result in more perspectives and opportunities. Endless curiosity and love for learning can often make one a jack of all trades who can effortlessly converse with people from different backgrounds. The foremost and major advantage is that a jack of all trades is never bored with life. Even if he/she is bored with one trade, it is very easy to move on to the next best suited trade.
When my father went to an orthopedic surgeon after shoulder dislocation in an accident, he was advised to approach an arthroscopic surgeon who specializes only in damage of the interior of a joint-such is the level of specialization nowadays. Family physician is an example of medical jack of all trades. It is a general physician who will tell you whether the pain is due to heartburn or a clogged artery. Knowledge of quite a few fields can facilitate better diagnosis and treatment whereas a specialist will only detect problems in his area though they may be superficial or even absent at times.
At times, there is a very thin line between specialization and generalization. For example, Steve Jobs who was the ultimate jack of all trades at Apple. He was as involved in product management as he was with carefully crafting the Apple image. And Jobs had the additional advantage of uncanny intuition. He was not a better programmer than the VP of Engineering but he had a broad range of skills. As technology becomes a commodity, it is the big-picture generalists who will predict, innovate, and rise to power fastest.
So we should push our minds into new domains. Diversity gives a different kind of confidence rather than fear of the unknown. Presently every branch of science and engineering can be applied in every other branch. Just like the food web, different fields are interconnected intricately and the scope of the combined effort and amalgam is amazing.
At IIT GN we are encouraged to have interdisciplinary knowledge and have the golden opportunity to learn wide range of subjects like life science, philosophy, humanities and social sciences. Sports is also given due importance. All these may seem irrelevant as engineering students but these would definitely help us at some point in our lives and make us better people who can think from different perspectives. As engineers are said to be problem solvers of the society, this is most essential. Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam has also emphasized on “the inter disciplinary convergence of science resulting in reciprocating benefits which can go a long way in helping humanity”. An all rounded and multi asseted person is always appreciated. We can have knowledge of different things while specializing in our area of interest. Hence it is an era of interdisciplinary skills. Just like the Dutch shepherd dog, cricketer who is an all rounder and loamy soil, jack of all trades will be the shining star.
Be complex to categorize and look far and wide –There are so many worlds to conquer. I would like to end the article with the following quote:
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, conn a ship, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve an equation, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” – by Robert A. Heinlein.
