The Context Question Is Also the Complexity Question

Allegedly, as he lay dying Einstein was asked what wisdom he would like to pass along. He thought for a while and then said, “Everything is context.”

Think of the scores of things that are true in parts of that refinery picture, but not true in other components of that transfer system. Statements offered as universally true or false are entering dangerous terrain. Critical thinkers often ask the context question: But is what you are saying accurate in all contexts?

Another way to think about the context question is to see it as the “complexity” question. That question is designed to remind us that multiple factors shape any judgment we form. The frequency of complexity is important in reminding us that highly important questions are the ones requiring the best evidence as a foundation. Making errors in unimportant scenarios is unfortunate, but not tragic.

An important recent book, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, illustrates how universities and the medical community make extraordinary errors with immense consequences because they repeatedly generalize from research results emphasizing the importance of muscle memory and cognitive patterns. 

We are understandably impressed by the example of Tiger Woods who developed a proficiency in golf at an incredibly early age through repeated practice, music savants who show early brilliance with an instrument and spend thousands of hours with that instrument developing that competence to amazing levels, and academic researchers whose training in narrow specialties is used to diagnose and cure heretofore deadly diseases. 

On the basis of those instances, parents push children to develop a specific skill at an early age and universities tout specialization, praising those who have focused their development narrowly on a single human problem. 

But David Epstein, the author of Range, presents a different area of research demonstrating the dangers of and losses from early specialization. For some situations experimentation at an early age in many areas and advanced training in modes of analysis in many domains pays spectacular benefits. He explains when specialization is our greatest need and when experiences in many areas offer huge dividends. In other words, the learning context matters big time when thinking about the experts and achievers we need to develop.

A personal note: I am a generalist. I am amazed at the level of illiteracy among academics who ignore and even revile researchers in other disciplines even when many times, their expertise would be complemented enormously had they demonstrated the humility to inform themselves about research in related disciplines. 

At the same time, in some  learning domains I would seek narrow specialists for that focus is required where repeated patterns need to be recognized through intense practice. In short, if I were in an automobile accident, and multiple doctors in different specialties agree that I need a repair of my hand, I would seek a plastic surgeon whose expertise is repairing injured hands.