#Generalist

[kris-and-the-pnictogens]

Studying Generalism

It's taken us altogether too long to realize that if we had a proper place or station in life, a profession or occupation, it's to be a generalist. Every time we thought that we'd found a career in the usual specific sense that's assumed by U.S. society, we got bounced out of it. As you might imagine that wasn't pleasant to experience. It's meant decades of frustration and anger and self-loathing, racking up a string of failed careers. But even a failed career means experience and it has been of great long-term advantage to us, it seems, to have acquired such a wide variety of experiences, even if they were short and shambolic ones.

But how does one become a generalist? Pursuing a specific career is far more straightforward and well-documented, but there's no discipline or body of wisdom corresponding to generalism, is there? Actually...there is, but the difficulty is that almost all of it is likely to be bogus. For there's one sort of human being most likely to assert that they're generalists, and that's the man of business, the "entrepreneur" or the "founder" or the "investor". Because they're merely interested in success in the conventional capitalist sense, the would-be "founders" of the world are aimless and capricious in their interests, but they're easily persuaded to think that this means they're universal geniuses, good at everything they dabble with. Thus I don't doubt that if I looked for books purporting to describe how to be a generalist, I'd find thousands—and they'd all be terrible.

If there's any truly helpful and salutary approach to generalism, I suspect, it's through spirituality and mysticism. I have encountered the idea that magic or "the occult" can be regarded as the art of arts, the human discipline that really and truly does touch upon everything else. I'm reminded of my one taste of the work of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, the famous polymath of the German Renaissance, and was struck to learn that it was very much like an outline of all known human knowledge. If you were a polymath in those days, like Agrippa or Avicebron or Paracelsus, very likely you gained a reputation as an occultist and practitioner of magic. The "Enlightenment" and the severities of the Christian Reformation and Counter-Reformation rather put an end to such notions, and studying the occult became very disreputable and unsafe. But I would like to reverse that trend! =D

We are having a very difficult time figuring out how to get started. It has been an uphill battle of years simply to impose even the most basic of disciplines upon ourselves and internalize them. To put it bluntly, authoritarian U.S. society does everything possible to prevent the establishment of personal disciplines: we're supposed to jump around when we're told and that means we're discouraged as much as possible from having any strongly developed personality or sense of values. Frauds and charlatans have captured this field, each selling their own canned (and poisonous) variation on how to have an identity or purpose, always pitched in commercial terms: this is how to be successful, how to make friends and influence people, and so forth. Another difficulty is that we were never properly taught how to study! U.S. schools give this practically no attention. It's a sink-or-swim thing: the child is expected to figure out how to study on their own. Hence we learned nothing but bad habits and terrible coping mechanisms for our various cognitive and neurological issues...we never learned how to do it correctly.

It really does feel like...Back to Zero, if I may say so (q.v. Fate/Zero.)

~Chara of Pnictogen

[artistajourney]

Post Artcamp - Exterior environment 

This time I wrapped up and tested fully what I learned so far in the environment creation in 3D.

I did this picture full CGI with MP sky and just comp and grading on top but it’s not overpainted the way as the previous keyframes are.

For the next I am going to work on the interior, also fully in 3D.

[redsamuraiii]

Izakaya Bottakuri (Ep 4)

A generalist is a knife that can cut through anything. A specialist is a knife that can something specific.

A generalist knife can cut anything but may take several cuts. A specialist knife can cut one thing but it only take one cut.

[soapdispensersalesman]

If there's someone who has really been inspiring me to be whoever I want to be, it has definitely been Donald Glover. I've been watching pretty much every video essay about him at this point, it's literally the same story every time but told from a different perspective and inspiring me when I need it the most :)

[msfbgraves]

I can't say I've managed to do it often in my life, but I know that when I do it, I do something that is quite rare.

If you have varying experiences, you can combine them in ways few people do. And people actually like it. That's where a lot of innovation lies, putting two realms together that don't meet. You don't even have to be able to do it yourself but if you can talk to people from different walks of life that is also a great help.

You'll constantly be able to know things other people from a group typically do not. And that can lead to beautiful new things.

So you may not become the best in an established field but you may establish, or help establish, a new idea or practice just because you can think of them. Knowing something that isn't very widely known can trigger so many great new insights, or it can help understand people. My Ancient Greek is very poor but a guy on the plane really liked me simply because I knew the alphabet.

[adventuresinclientservice]

Why I'm glad I'm not a lawyer, a banker, or (God forbid) an engineer.

I was a one-semester-to-go impending college graduate, sitting in the kitchen of the modest Los Angeles home of one of my college roommates, “The Tuna,” filling out a law school application, when I put my pen down. 

I called Philadelphia.

“Dad, I don’t want to go the law school; I want to go to grad school in literature.”

My Dad, instead of being obstructionist, was surprisingly supportive.  “Whatever you want to do, Bobby.”

Why the sudden change, not just of heart, but of career?

It could be I was inspired by the spirited teachings of a professor, A.E. Claeyssens (the most likely reason); or it possibly was a notion fueled and motivated by romantic visions of college life (less likely); or even driven by intellectual pursuits (highly unlikely).  I equally was repelled by the prospect of law school (a grind) and the future of an attorney (beyond boring)

Regardless, my degree in American Studies, instead of prepping me for law school, equipped me with a generalist’s background.  Less concerned with what was being taught, more concerned with who was teaching, I opted for professors who excelled in the classroom, each devoted to engaging me in ways that made me think for myself. 

I learned how to learn, to be inquisitive, to explore the possible, to find my way around a research library, to ask questions, and, above all, to communicate clearly, concisely, and with conviction. 

If you read The New York Times article, “Careerism is Ruining College, “ you see my choice is far less likely to occur these days.  The story’s author defines careerism as,

“pre-professional pressure: a prevailing culture that convinces many of us that only careers in fields such as computer programming, finance and consulting, preferably at blue-chip firms like Goldman Sachs, McKinsey or big tech companies, can secure us worthwhile futures.” 

I didn’t plan on a career in advertising, but that’s where the journey took me.  Instead of being a liability, my generalist’s training proved ideally suited to better serving my clients and collaborating more effectively with my colleagues.  I came to describe myself as, “A mile wide and an inch deep.”

Most people assume it’s pejorative; who wants to be seen as superficial?  That’s one view; the other is about being curious and interested in everything, especially in matters ranging far outside my normal sphere of interest.  Perhaps both describe me, but it’s easy to see which one I prefer.

Could I have succeeded as an attorney?  Possibly, although I imagine hating every minute of it.

As a finance person or consultant?  An epic fail if ever there was one.

As a computer programmer/engineer?  A total non-starter.

All of which prompts a question:  were I a college student today, would I have succumbed to the pressure felt by others, making a not-easily-reversable choice, or would I still have been able to follow a path where there is no path, just random chance presenting often hidden-from-view opportunities?

It sucks to get old – I know firsthand-- but it doesn’t suck to remember having  license to explore far and wide as a last-century college student of the 1960s and ‘70s.  Even more important, to this day my career, though far from perfect, isn’t one I would trade for being a lawyer, banker, or programmer/engineer.

It’s not a matter of money.  And that’s exactly the point.

[captaingimpy]

The Generalist Mindset: Why It’s Better to Be “Good Enough” at Everything

In a world that constantly pushes for specialization, being a generalist—a “jack of all trades”—can sometimes feel like swimming against the current. That old saying, “jack of all trades, master of none,” often gets thrown around as a warning against spreading yourself too thin. But people forget the full expression: “jack of all trades, master of none, but better than a master of one.” And that…

[thejaymo]

Generalist Mode | Weeknotes

I've had a really busy week this week. It's been non-stop and it seems like next week will be very much the same.

[pettybourgeoisblues]

I would say I’m a generalist, but look at the expression on mr. raptorial over there! 😂 he looks so sad and confused 🥺

Which one are you? I’m Aerial Fishing

[tmzzi-blog]

oi tumblr

voltei,

saudades,

estou de volta blender, estou de volta tumblr, se passaram 14 anos desde meu 'ultimo post , que coisa n~ao?

[scribblesoul-20]

HR Generalist

Job title: HR Generalist Company: SKM Air Conditioning Job description: Looking for an experienced HR Generalist (certified – CIPD or equivalent) with leadership skills. Location – Sharjah Expected salary: Location: Dubai Job date: Wed, 31 Jul 2024 22:47:08 GMT

[md3artjournal]

How to Manage Multiple Interests by Odysseas

The full saying is "jack of all trades, master of none, but ofttimes better than a master of one."

[redsamuraiii]

Izakaya Bottakuri (Ep 4)

A generalist’s dilemma.