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# Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

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Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World [Epstein, David] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

Review: A great book about learning, choosing a life’s work, and solving difficult problems - Range: Why Generalists Triumph in A Specialized World is an outstanding book. It’s just not about why generalists triumph in a specialized world. Author David Epstein says this in the conclusion to the book. “The question I set out to explore was how to capture and cultivate the power of breadth, diverse experience, and intra-disciplinary exploration within systems that increasingly demand hyper-specialization and would have you decide what you should be before first figuring out who you are.” In the introduction, Epstein outlines what he calls the “Tiger Model” and the “Roger Model” of achieving career success. The “tiger” is Tiger Woods. In the Tiger Model, you specialize early and engage in deliberate practice, honing your skills and expertise. The Roger Model is named for Roger Federer. In the Roger Model, you delay selecting a specialty until you learn more about yourself and what you do well. You have a “sampling period” where you try many things. Then, you specialize. The business and self-development press loves the Tiger Model. The Roger Model is out of fashion. But the Roger Model works for more people and in more situations. I was predisposed to like the Roger Model because of what I saw at my class reunions. On the day we first met, my classmates and I had plans about what we were going to do. As far as I know, only one of us stayed with that original plan and succeeded. Everyone else wound up doing something different than what we thought we would do, way back then. The rest of us switched specialties, tried different things Range is not about how generalists succeed. It’s about learning, choosing a life’s work, and solving difficult problems. Here’s how the book is laid out. In the first three chapters, Epstein makes his case for the Roger Model. You’ll learn about how the Tiger Model works great if you’re talking about a “kind” learning environment. In a kind learning environment patterns repeat, feedback is rapid, and there are proven methods of training. You learn to play the violin in a kind environment. The Roger Model is best for a “wicked” learning environment. There may or may not be rules or guideless. Results are often delayed and not easy to measure. Learning to be a good manager or parent happens in a wicked environment. Anders Ericsson's deliberate practice is perfect for kind learning environment. In a wicked environment you must change your idea of practice and redefine feedback. Chapters four and five are about thinking and learning. You’ll pick up a lot here about how to learn effectively. The skills will help whether you’re learning a subject, like history or the best way to structure your day. Chapters six and seven are about development, or what happens when you move beyond learning to learning as a part of making choices for yourself. In these two chapters, you’re introduced to the concept of “match quality” and how it applies to making life choices. The ideal, in Epstein’s view, is to find something that is a perfect fit for you. In chapters eight through twelve pull things together. You learn how take what you’ve learned and apply it to problem-solving, product development, and decision-making. In a Nutshell You’ll love this book if you think the world is becoming over-specialized. You’ll pick up lots of ammunition for your arguments. You’ll love this book if you want to learn and think more effectively. You’ll love this book if you feel like the advice, to specialize, practice, and never give up doesn’t work for you. You can check out some of my highlights and notes from this book on GoodReads
Review: Great read but with too long stories - This is a great book to give perspective of how having varied experiences could actually be beneficial as opposed to usual thinking of specialization. The author narrates good stories but it is with lot of repetition, the stories being dragged beyond the key takeaway or totally getting into super details - albeit the author is able to hold the interest. It definitely instills a lot of hope as well and opens views to how someone can pivot even late in their age.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #3,019 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Rugby (Books) #1 in Popular Developmental Psychology #3 in Sports Psychology (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (12,476) |
| Dimensions  | 5.47 x 0.74 x 8.2 inches |
| ISBN-10  | 0735214506 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0735214507 |
| Item Weight  | 10.4 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 368 pages |
| Publication date  | April 27, 2021 |
| Publisher  | Riverhead Books |

## Images

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A great book about learning, choosing a life’s work, and solving difficult problems
*by W***K on December 3, 2019*

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in A Specialized World is an outstanding book. It’s just not about why generalists triumph in a specialized world. Author David Epstein says this in the conclusion to the book. “The question I set out to explore was how to capture and cultivate the power of breadth, diverse experience, and intra-disciplinary exploration within systems that increasingly demand hyper-specialization and would have you decide what you should be before first figuring out who you are.” In the introduction, Epstein outlines what he calls the “Tiger Model” and the “Roger Model” of achieving career success. The “tiger” is Tiger Woods. In the Tiger Model, you specialize early and engage in deliberate practice, honing your skills and expertise. The Roger Model is named for Roger Federer. In the Roger Model, you delay selecting a specialty until you learn more about yourself and what you do well. You have a “sampling period” where you try many things. Then, you specialize. The business and self-development press loves the Tiger Model. The Roger Model is out of fashion. But the Roger Model works for more people and in more situations. I was predisposed to like the Roger Model because of what I saw at my class reunions. On the day we first met, my classmates and I had plans about what we were going to do. As far as I know, only one of us stayed with that original plan and succeeded. Everyone else wound up doing something different than what we thought we would do, way back then. The rest of us switched specialties, tried different things Range is not about how generalists succeed. It’s about learning, choosing a life’s work, and solving difficult problems. Here’s how the book is laid out. In the first three chapters, Epstein makes his case for the Roger Model. You’ll learn about how the Tiger Model works great if you’re talking about a “kind” learning environment. In a kind learning environment patterns repeat, feedback is rapid, and there are proven methods of training. You learn to play the violin in a kind environment. The Roger Model is best for a “wicked” learning environment. There may or may not be rules or guideless. Results are often delayed and not easy to measure. Learning to be a good manager or parent happens in a wicked environment. Anders Ericsson's deliberate practice is perfect for kind learning environment. In a wicked environment you must change your idea of practice and redefine feedback. Chapters four and five are about thinking and learning. You’ll pick up a lot here about how to learn effectively. The skills will help whether you’re learning a subject, like history or the best way to structure your day. Chapters six and seven are about development, or what happens when you move beyond learning to learning as a part of making choices for yourself. In these two chapters, you’re introduced to the concept of “match quality” and how it applies to making life choices. The ideal, in Epstein’s view, is to find something that is a perfect fit for you. In chapters eight through twelve pull things together. You learn how take what you’ve learned and apply it to problem-solving, product development, and decision-making. In a Nutshell You’ll love this book if you think the world is becoming over-specialized. You’ll pick up lots of ammunition for your arguments. You’ll love this book if you want to learn and think more effectively. You’ll love this book if you feel like the advice, to specialize, practice, and never give up doesn’t work for you. You can check out some of my highlights and notes from this book on GoodReads

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great read but with too long stories
*by D***M on February 25, 2025*

This is a great book to give perspective of how having varied experiences could actually be beneficial as opposed to usual thinking of specialization. The author narrates good stories but it is with lot of repetition, the stories being dragged beyond the key takeaway or totally getting into super details - albeit the author is able to hold the interest. It definitely instills a lot of hope as well and opens views to how someone can pivot even late in their age.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A compelling analysis in favor of diverse experience and interdisciplinary exploration.
*by H***D on June 5, 2019*

Once I started reading the book, I had a hard time putting it down. Since the reading has sincerely resonated with me, I decided to share a review before you make any commitment. First, I hope to put together a brief summary from each chapter including key excerpts highlighted while taking notes. Then, I will share some personal thoughts and recommendations. SUMMARY [Introduction] Right in the beginning David says we are often taught that the more competitive and complicated the world gets, the more specialized we must become, and the earlier we must start to navigate it. However, while studying the topic, he noticed that accumulated experience in different domains and late specialization are worth it in the long run. The stories of Tiger Woods and Roger Federer are presented to illustrate that, although both reached the top of their domains, the approach they took growing up was completely different. [Chapter 1] Through the premise of early specialization, Laszlo Polgar pushed his daughters to their limits through rigorous chess practices from an early age. Even though they achieved outstanding results, we learn that a head start in hyperspecialized practices from day one, such as chess and golf, are exceptions. In most domains, however, “the rules of the game are often unclear or incomplete, there may or may not be repetitive patterns and they may not be obvious, and feedback is often delayed, inaccurate, or both.” In order to thrive in these domains, Christopher Connolly says that successful adapters are excellent at taking knowledge from one pursuit and applying it creatively to another, and at avoiding cognitive entrenchment. [Chapter 2] Now we take a close look at how modern societies have drawn to a more holistic context of abstract thinking. David explains that “exposure to the modern world has made us better adapted for complexity, and that has manifested as flexibility, with profound implications for the breadth of our intellectual world.” Like chess and golf masters, premodern villagers relied on things being the same tomorrow as they were yesterday. They were extremely well prepared for what they had experienced before but failed at learning without experience. David adds that “their very thinking was highly specialized in a manner that the modern world has been telling us is increasingly obsolete.” [Chapter 3] Based on examples dated back to the 1710s and recent research studies regarding the development of musicians, David shows that a “sampling period, often lightly structured with some lessons and a breadth of instruments and activities, followed only later by narrowing of focus, increased structure, and an explosion of practice volume” is the most common path to excellence. Breadth in training is key to create abstract models so that we can better apply the knowledge to situations we have never seen before. [Chapter 4] David shifts gears toward effective strategies to learn science. Although some of them seem to impair performance in the short term, they have shown to be essential for better performance later. Among the strategies, we learn the benefits of [1] spacing practices between sessions for the same material; [2] promoting students to make connections with broader concepts; [3] testing progress over time; and [4] learning under varied conditions. [Chapter 5] This chapter is about the importance of cultivating an outside perspective to look for structurally similar analogies. Using astronomer Johannes Kepler’s approach—who thought entirely outside of his domain—as an example, David explains that “deep analogical thinking is the practice of recognizing conceptual similarities in multiple domains or scenarios that may seem to have little in common on the surface.” After all, in a confused and inaccurate world, relying upon experiences from a single domain isn’t only limiting, it can be disastrous. [Chapter 6] Here we explore the virtues of late start. The unusual paths taken by Van Gogh throughout his early life paid off later, becoming one of the most well-known painters in history. As David puts, Van Gogh “tested options with maniacal intensity and got the maximum information signal about his fit as quickly as possible, and then moved to something else and repeated, until he had zigzagged his way to a place no one else had ever been, and where he alone excelled.” Allowing students to delay specialization while sampling and finding out who they are and where they fit improves match quality throughout later career decisions. [Chapter 7] Our work and life preferences don’t stay the same across time and context. David argues that “because personality changes more than we expect with time, experience, and different contexts, we are ill-equipped to make ironclad long-term goals when our past consists of little time, few experiences, and a narrow range of contexts.” Professor Ibarra’s studies are interesting. She says that, instead of a grand plan, we should focus on finding experiments that can be undertaken quickly—something she calls “test-and-learn.” She concludes by affirming “we discover the possibilities by doing, by trying new activities, building new networks, finding new roles models.” [Chapter 8] Using interesting examples, David shows how framing problems with distant analogies from random experiences outside the field can be remarkably effective to find solutions. In fact, some organizations have actually facilitated entities in any field to post their challenges and reward for outside solvers. “The larger and more easily accessible the library of human knowledge, the more chances for inquisitive patrons to make connections at the cutting edge.” [Chapter 9] To reiterate the importance of having accumulated a range of experiences, David shows that even in hyperspecialized fields breadth becomes increasingly important. Andy Ouderkirk and other researchers at 3M set out to study the commercial impact inventors made through patents. They concluded that both specialist and generalists made contributions. Whereas “specialists were adept at working for a long time on difficult technical problems, and for anticipating development obstacles, the generalists tended to get bored working in one area for too long.” Instead, generalists “added value by integrating domains, taking technology from one area and applying it in others.” More important, though, is to know that specialists and generalists thrive when working together. [Chapter 10] Here we learn how to distinguish successful from unsuccessful forecasters. In essence, the best forecasters “are high in active open-mindedness.” Moreover, David says, “they are also extremely curious, and don’t merely consider contrary ideas, they proactively cross disciplines looking for them.” They aren’t only the best forecasters as individuals, but they also have qualities that make them particularly effective collaborators. The unsuccessful ones, however, tend to know one big thing—their expertise is deep but narrow. Some have spent their careers studying a single problem, “reaching for formulaic solutions to ill-defined problems.” [Chapter 11] In a hyperspecialized world, psychologist Karl Weick says that dropping familiar tools is particularly difficult for experienced professionals who rely on overlearned behavior. Based on a handful of tragic examples, we learn that experienced groups became rigid under pressure—“it’s the very unwillingness of people to drop their tools is what turns some dramas into tragedies.” To counterbalance that, studies have shown that an effective problem-solving culture is one that balances standard practices with forces that push in the opposite direction. The trick, David says, “is expanding the organization's range by identifying the dominant culture and then diversifying it by pushing in the opposite direction.” [Chapter 12] The final chapter focuses on scientific progress through the results of free intellects working on interdisciplinary subjects. The cult of the head start, professor Arturo Casadevall argues, “is that young scientists are rushed to specialize before they learn how to think; they end up unable to produce good work themselves and unequipped to spot bad work by their colleagues.” He is indeed a big proponent of exploring innovation ecosystems that intentionally preserve range and inefficiency.” PERSONAL THOUGHTS Well, I ended preordering the book because I felt deeply compelled by the topic. Although I have taken a specialized route throughout education and the initial years of my career, I have noticed that it wasn’t a natural fit. To be more precise, I am drawn toward the diverse possibilities the world offers us to explore. The value of hyperspecialized domains is hardly questionable, despite the fact that a transdisciplinary approach toward education and research seems to be advantageous to move the needle forward for the rest of humanity. The book brings a wealth of knowledge through examples, stories, and practical applications. Moreover, David covers a vast array of topics, ranging from sports all the way to hyperspecialized scientific research. Because of that, throughout the reading, we are likely to find pieces that speak directly to us—to further reflect on the issues, and hopefully put them into practice. Take care, Haical

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