I’m interested in way too many things. It’s a constant frustration.
And then I read Range and all was right again in my world.
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, David Epstein, Reviewed by Mark D. Eckel
I found someone else who believes “mental wandering is a competitive advantage” (275). David Epstein, a former sports writer, tells stories from across the wide world, through every academic discipline: science to humanities and back again. Care for all things athletic, Epstein began to ask deeper questions, see ideas in a new way, comprehend data in story form, integrating the results in a way that demonstrated wholeness; snapshots of a comprehensive universe and its Creator (Proverbs 8:12-31). Epstein does what every professor hopes for in her students: processing information in a multiplicity of directions so as to find synthesis with the learning thesis. The narratives are arresting, the principles so obvious, so true, they leave the reader wondering why she had not thought of them before.
Epstein’s purpose flows through the stories he tells. He wants to “capture and cultivate the power of breadth, diverse experience, and interdisciplinary exploration” (289). To substantiate his point, he begins by comparing two athletes from two different sports with two very different approaches to their respective games. Epstein builds on the proposition that specializing in one sport from a young age does not mean the person is better than the athlete who performed in multiple sports beginning his devotion to one sport later in life. He then takes to task those who may think a “head start” is the best start. Abstract reasoning in chapter two broadens the reader’s mind to consider how to circumnavigate the rapidly changing (“wicked”) world. Twisting the old saw “less is more,” Range probes the effects of expansive instead of deeper learning over many subjects.
The tale of the tortoise and the hare takes on new significance when one deliberates how “fast and easy learning” is unproductive. Needing compatriots with outside experience and strategies summarizes chapter five. “Grit” has become a cultural watchword for “perseverance” for which Epstein writes cautionary concerns. Chapter seven tells the story of Frances Hesselbein, the world renowned leadership expert who lives a life that suggests the best taught are self-taught. Outsider knowledge follows immediately in the text proposing what most know to be true, that another set of eyes is crucial for a proper view of any situation.
“Lateral thinking,” a concept developed in 1960’s educational theory, is resurrected in chapter nine, well summarized by the quote, “I have a lot of apps open in my brain right now” (213). It follows, then, that expertise is not all it’s cracked up to be, amending the proverb, “The expert always lives 30 miles away . . . and should perhaps stay there.” The tragic story of NASA’s Challenger failure in chapter eleven begins and ends within an individualistic culture refusing to give up its tool box. Developing amateurs given to creativity in the final chapter leads to the obvious conclusion that everyone should consider “expanding their range.” Epstein absolutely accomplishes his purpose by pushing his audience toward a commitment to interdisciplinarity.
Insights abound in Range, so many, in fact, that one is left constantly pondering, “How could I use this idea in the classes I teach?” Normally I would encourage teachers during my Christian education seminars to split into grade levels or subject areas to work on faith-learning exercises. It seems I should have been practicing what Epstein advocates: across the board integration (e.g. 13, 20). Adaptation is initiated by an integrative mindset (34). Discovery of rules, patterns, and tools of learning across subject areas opens new doors to new knowledge throughout chapter two. Economics majors are given special recognition since they seem to have a “broad field by nature” (48) giving credence to interdisciplinarity against normalcy bias (50-53).
Stories like cross-eyed pianists being better at music because they can’t read the notations (71) fill the pages punctuated with “Wow!” scrawled in pencil throughout my volume. So-called “failure” stories also dot the book (128) with the same outcome: failure leads to success. Consider but one example in academics which professors see all the time. Three quarters of the students who finish a degree in one field of study transition to another in their vocational lives. It would seem, then, that the academe should focus its attention on the tools of learning within any given discipline (e.g. 131). Also consider how often we may stick with the same process or procedure when we can see its deleterious effects or we double-down on policies that need to change (139). Shared leadership (153) could be a safeguard against overweening pride which maintains failed strategies.
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 (“you never know” repeated three times) is never far from the biblical thinker’s mindset since discoveries may be “triggered by unpredictable and unforeseen small findings” (285). The benefits of misfortune (165) further the point suggesting failure often leads to success (288). For all the students who have ever felt “behind” (290) David Epstein is here to say, you are right where you are supposed to be. The Christian educator should be the first to laud such a volume recognizing the transcendent nature of God’s sovereignty which redefines “success” and “failure” (Proverbs 16: 3, 9, 33).
Epstein’s thesis could help correct curricular transitions or academic accreditation. Oft times, inbred academic culture limits outside participation because the academe has deemed it so. The Department of Education and accreditation agencies should read chapter eight over and over again. Just consider: a maintenance worker was “goofing around” with a Nintendo product, ultimately creating a gaming giant (193). Again and again proverbial ideas dot the pages of Range. “Innovation is based on broad experience” (209) followed by the attributes of those innovators (211). A “vague knowledge of everything” (198, 205) is indispensable to an interdisciplinary culture; individualism, on the other hand, is the death of any culture (262-63). “Bridges,” not walls, should be created between departments magnifying the possibility for new insights (282).
How could a former sports writer combine his skills to address psychology, education, and a multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving? Epstein began by asking questions. So the reader should ask questions while reading Range. How do we maintain taproot mission commitment when cultural fluidity threatens to uproot our commitment? Can we be resilient as well as flexible in our approach to any endeavor? The volume bristles with cogent thought and a collection of phrases on each page leading the reader to play with ideas (199).
Christian professors should be reminded “Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them” (Ps 111:2) all the while pondering the benefit of Epstein’s subtitle Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. Interdisciplinary thinking arises out of God’s many works. While I will continue to frustrate myself by generating too many ideas I take comfort in knowing that all the ideas come from and are held together by the author of all ideas, Jesus (Col 1:17).
Review by Mark D. Eckel, President, The Comenius Institute, Indianapolis, IN; Professor of Leadership, Education and Discipleship, Capital Seminary and Graduate School, Lancaster, PA. Published in the Christian Education Journal: pp. 191-193.
Range: Why generalists triumph in a specialized world. By David Epstein. New York, NY: Riverhead Books. 2019. 339 pp. $28.00. hardcover.