Life is not so much the pursuit of success as the pursuit of growth. Success must have a secular definition, and growth requires only one's own inner conviction. Success is compared with others, growth is compared with yourself. Success is external, growth is internal. Whether it is success or growth, there are certain ways and paths.
The way or path we are most familiar with is the "win at the starting line" pattern. Set goals early and keep working hard. Either thousands of troops cross a single-plank bridge: prenatal education, early childhood education, good primary school, good junior high school, good high school entrance examination, but also various subjects, interest training courses, participating in various competitions, and then entering a good university and finding a good job . Or it's a unique approach: choose a sport or art, pursue it without distraction, invest desperately, and train in the dark.
Another way or path that most people yearn for but can't reach is the "stocking" mode. There are no clear goals, no limits, no limits, go through trials and tribulations, experiment widely, discover your true interests and expertise, and then find your own direction and path.
Which of the two paths is better or worse? Is there a third way?
Canadian bestselling author David Epstein's "Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World" (Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World) explores this question. Interestingly, this book has been solemnly recommended by Bill Gates, the god of IT, as his 2020 book list. But soon after the recommendation, the news of the divorce of one of the chicken feathers came out. Before that, however, Bill Gates was indeed a model of great success and growth.
The Chinese version of "Damn Book Waist" is printed with "a good book that pierces the myth of specialization " - from the point of view of typesetting, it should be Gates' words, but from the content of the book, this sentence The words are not accurate and therefore doubtful. At the same time, this advertisement is printed: " deliberately practice? Win at the starting line? Become a professional elite? In the ever-changing AI era, your growth needs more paths and possibilities!" The story of tennis star Federer begins. Tiger Woods showed an extraordinary talent for golf since he was a child, and his parents went all out to train Little Woods until he became a god. Federer's mother is a tennis coach, but she has not cultivated her son's tennis interest and skills since childhood. Federer plays everything, squash , skiing , wrestling , swimming , basketball , handball , Tennis, table tennis ... I was gradually attracted to tennis when I was a teenager. I chose a direction, went all out, and finally became a generation of enduring superstars.
Tiger Woods represents the specialist path of "start early, practice deliberately", and Federer represents the generalist path of "trying in many ways and specializing later".
In the book, the author first attacked the educational frenzy of "winning at the starting line"; then he affirmed the importance of abstract thinking and conceptual reasoning, which is based on extensive exposure and knowledge of the world; The author also advocates relational thinking and analogical thinking, pointing out that the essence is certainly pleasant and efficient, but the integrity, systematicness, and relational performance make us suddenly enlightened and do more with less when we accumulate to a certain level.The author also pointed out that we should jump out of experience and not superstitious experts; if you insist too much, you will lose the opportunity for correction; you should always jump out of the three realms, be an outsider, and re-examine our direction and path; using outdated technologies and methods for lateral thinking will lead to accidents. Gain; put down the familiar tools, leave the familiar environment, and deviate from the familiar path, all of which will bring a new vision and cognition.
It is worth mentioning that, when talking about the use of outdated technologies and methods for lateral thinking, the book says that other such cases are similar to the Chinese Nobel Laureate in Biomedicine Tu Youyou's use of ancient recipes to extract artemisinin. The findings pale in comparison. It is also worth mentioning that Tu Youyou is a "three no professors" with no academician qualifications, no overseas research experience, and no postgraduate qualifications.
In the epilogue, the author tells us that "the story of innovation and self-discovery looks like an orderly movement from point A to point B", but in fact all growth will not be a linear movement, there will be surprises, There will be twists and turns, and there will be confusion. Tiger Woods "the detours, breadth and the role of experimentation on the road of growth are compressed to a minimum", constructing a simple, direct and efficient myth that leads to success. All success is based on comprehensive growth. The authors of
seem to be advocating the generalist path, and to a certain extent they do. But the author's meaning is far from being so plain and simple. The author actually walks a middle line between the two paths—the middle way, which seems to be universal—that specialists and generalists lead the same way (the author specifically emphasizes that "Finally, remember that specialization itself has nothing to do with it. Wrong. We're all doing deep research, but with different degrees of specialization and content.”) The trimmed twists and turns in the Woods model are also integral to the comprehensive growth of the Woods, and the role of professional training must not be overlooked in Federer’s success.
This is taken from the subtitle of the book “Why Generalists Triumph ina Specialized World” can also be seen, “Why are generalists successful in the professional world” does not rule out the success of specialists. What’s more, the so-called specialists and generalists are connected at a certain level, and specialists are generalists, and generalists must also have specialties. The author of
also mentioned that in the era of artificial intelligence, many so-called "professional" jobs with rules and logic can be handed over to machines or systems. In this sense, generalists have greater advantages than specialists in this era, and it is a kind of Consensus. This also makes an unexpected footnote to the fact that "crossover" has become fashionable. The author of
believes that "spiritual freedom and personal experimentation are the source of (growth) strength. "And "all life is an experiment." "
So, open your mind, emancipate your mind, learn from the old and embrace the new, keep growing, and do a good life experiment.
