{"id":116572,"date":"2023-08-31T14:06:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T18:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=116572"},"modified":"2023-11-02T14:20:17","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T18:20:17","slug":"well-rounded-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/well-rounded-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Why a Well-Rounded Education Will Get You Far in Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What does it mean to have a well-rounded education? Why is it better to be a generalist than a specialist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the context of skill sets and education, a specialist is someone proficient in one area while a generalist has a wide range of skills, which they gain from a well-rounded education. If you want to succeed in the changing workforce, it\u2019s better to be a generalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below we\u2019ll look at why a well-rounded education will help you in your life and career, and what subjects are the most useful to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Importance of a Well-Rounded Education<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A well-rounded education in multiple subject areas encourages broad learning, which<\/strong> teaches transferable skills<\/strong>. In Range<\/em><\/a>, David J. Epstein says basic training in a wide range of activities teaches a unique kind of skillset\u2014one founded on instincts and principles that apply across disciplines rather than habits that apply in only one context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A study conducted at a high-level music boarding school found that the highest-performing students didn\u2019t practice more than others, took fewer formal lessons, didn\u2019t start playing at a younger age, and didn\u2019t even come from musical families. Instead, what set them apart was the number of instruments they knew how to play. <\/strong>The most <\/strong>exceptional students typically spread their practice time across three instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, a period of exploration increases your chances of discovering a pursuit that\u2019s a good fit for you\u2014something that suits your inherent talents and that you\u2019re excited about pursuing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extending this idea, parents should nurture exploration in their children, allowing them to discover their own likes and dislikes among different subjects and activities in both their education and extracurricular activities. Eager parents try to get their kids to skip the era of exploration by choosing lifelong pursuits for them as early as possible\u2014often a particular musical instrument or sport. However, an externally imposed specialization is far less likely to be a good fit than one you choose for yourself. A study of 1,200 musicians showed that kids who had their destinies chosen for them were far more likely to quit later down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well-Rounded Students Have More Creative Ideas<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Epstein asserts that generalists are better at coming up with new ideas and solving problems in creative ways, making them far more valuable in the professional world than specialists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, their diverse background experience makes it easier for them to think analogically<\/em>\u2014that is, using analogies to discover commonalities between dissimilar situations. For example, a start-up CEO struggling to decide whether to sell her rapidly growing company could inform her decision by studying 20th-century farmers who discovered a massive wealth of oil underneath their land. Analogical thinking<\/a> is effective because seemingly unrelated problems often have the same underlying structure, enabling similar solutions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, generalists are better at lateral thinking, the use of pre-existing knowledge in a new context. Epstein writes extensively about cases in which outsiders with less expertise and less information about a given situation solve problems that have stumped teams of experts for years. They\u2019re able to come up with ideas specialists never would because they\u2019re drawing from a different background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, the fact that creativity is all about bringing together ideas in new ways reveals the practical value<\/a> of diversity in the workplace. Team members with diverse backgrounds and educations bring together diverse ideas,<\/strong> making it more likely that they\u2019ll come up with something new. For this reason, scientists who have worked abroad at some point in their lives, on average, make more impactful discoveries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generalists Are Flexible to the Adapting World<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For generations, young and up-and-coming professionals have been told that developing expertise<\/a> in one particular skill or area was the surest route to professional success. As the wisdom went, the more specialized your skills, the greater your income and job security<\/a>. For example, you could do just fine as a psychologist, but you could do better as a child psychologist\u2014and even better as a child psychologist who specializes in trauma. This has been sound advice in past decades, but the working world is now at a turning point. Technology\u2019s rapid evolution has changed the world in which you live and work, and to succeed in this new world, you need to change your approach from that of a <\/strong>specialist<\/em> to that of a generalist<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While expertise is still highly valued, the professionals of today and tomorrow need a broader understanding to be successful. Technology is changing the world<\/a> so quickly that it creates constant uncertainty as people learn about and adapt to new innovations. In this uncertain world, the most successful professionals will be those who have the breadth of knowledge to tackle problems with flexibility and agility. <\/strong>For example, if you\u2019re a cardiac surgeon, your specialization colors the way you see your patients\u2019 problems, and you\u2019re inclined to see heart surgery as the only option. By contrast, if you\u2019re a cardiac surgeon with some education in nutrition and holistic medicine, you\u2019re likely to have more options to offer your patients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the depth of knowledge that specialists offer is increasingly available through artificial intelligence and technological innovation. Technology is commoditizing information and making it more widely available, reducing the need for specialists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies that understand that the world is moving this way are already hiring accordingly. For example, recruiters at Google prioritize problem-solving skills<\/a> over specialized knowledge among their job candidates. Google has remained dominant in the tech industry because of the company\u2019s ability to evolve, and it needs employees who are just as adept at changing their roles and focus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essential Subjects for Students<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that you know why a well-rounded education will get you far in life, what are the subjects that will provide students with this rich depth of knowledge? While there are many subjects schools should be requiring students to take, we\u2019ll focus on three general areas that provide a diverse curriculum: arts, writing, and science courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creative Courses<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Courses such as art, music, or film can improve your creativity skills. By extension, creativity applies to more traditional subjects such as math and science because a creative mind uses diffuse-mode of thinking. In A Mind for Numbers<\/em><\/a>, Barbara Oakley says diffuse-mode thinking<\/a> happens when you relax or just let your mind wander<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This type of thinking can generate creative ideas and creative solutions to difficult problems by allowing you to mentally step away from detailed problems and see the big picture<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making use of metaphors also strengthens your creativity, because metaphors connect diverse concepts in your mind, which exercises your imagination.<\/strong> Here are a few additional tips for realizing your full creative potential:<\/p>\n\n\n\n