I am a dilettante.
Dilettante. Don't know what the word means? Neither did I. I had to look it up. According to this article, that's exactly what I am. A dabbler who knows enough to be dangerous, but not enough to really make a difference. In fact, the article goes on to suggest that due to increased internet and blog consumption, we are increasingly becoming a society of dilettantes.
Want to know why? This article will tell you that web users are reading actual books less and less. Upon reflection, I can see that I have actually decreased my book reading quite a bit in the last ten years or so, excluding periods without net access.
Perhaps it's time to curtail my web usage and casual studies in favor of more specific research. Is it better to be a specialist or a generalist? Is it possible to become both, to reach for the renaissance ideal?
Want to know why? This article will tell you that web users are reading actual books less and less. Upon reflection, I can see that I have actually decreased my book reading quite a bit in the last ten years or so, excluding periods without net access.
Perhaps it's time to curtail my web usage and casual studies in favor of more specific research. Is it better to be a specialist or a generalist? Is it possible to become both, to reach for the renaissance ideal?
posted by Q. at 9:58:00 AM
2 Comments:
Specialist or generalist, eh? Forever being condemned to generalization would be quite the prison sentence, wouldn't it? Specialism is required for fun. I prefer to think of knowledge as a wide, wide base, from which one can drill down towards specialism in this area or that. Eventually, you could have quite a wide trench excavated.
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Generalists have great survival potential, but specialists generally have more fun, eh?
Yohoho and a bottle of rum.
An interesting simile. It presents an appropriately large picture of the world of knowledge. Yes, I think it's time for some fun of that type.
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