Dec
15
2009
I could not understand why it was so difficult to pick a major in college forty years ago. I went two years and eventually dropped out without picking a major.
Decades later I realized I was a “generalist”: I wanted to know everything, about everything. All my life I have read omnivorously. And anything that I came across and interested me, no matter the subject. I also read in quick bursts.
What I did not realize for a long time I was laying down the foundation to be a writer. To be a writer you need a broad base of knowledge to draw upon. There are few areas if any I am an expert of but I do know a bit here and a bit there.
The world is really divided into generalists and specialists. And both need each other. A liberal education still has value. The world still needs someone to see the big picture. Otherwise we get lost in the details.