Editor’s Note: If you are like me, constantly searching for many adventures, understandings, skills and talents. You will find this amusing. I have many areas of interest from engineering to ballet to electro dance music to Bach to cooking to philosophy to the languages and many more. I am not an expert or remotely in all these fields, but I do believe I have a decent understanding which allows me to discuss , reflect, draw upon and combine subjects to apply to our daily work, whatever that might be.
The Expert Generalist
“Future belongs to those who can combine different knowledge and skills” Robert Greene
Openness for experience and need for cognition are the fundamental characteristics of being an expert generalist as described in the article, Picasso, Kepler, and the Benefits of Being an Expert Generalist, by Prof. Art Markman and Robert Greene strongly argues in his book, Mastery, that the future belongs to those who can combine different knowledge and skills; in other words, expert generalists.
So what does it mean to be an expert generalist? First of all, I would argue “expert generalist” is not a state, but a process. It is a mindset that hungers for new experiences and to satiate this particular need for cognition. Now I believe the fastest way you can learn is to examine the Expert’s experience and knowledge and use what I call “The Expert Generalist Principle.” I cannot convince you to hunger for new experiences, but the principle or this process can assist you learning things quickly.
No matter what, it will be difficult and challenging. However just as there are varying efficient paths to a destination, you can use the principle to create a very efficient process to lessen the time, effort and difficulty.
The Expert Generalist Principle
- Analyze The Experts: Find and study who are regarded as “experts” in the area you are interested learning. YouTube, Wikipedia and Amazon.com are your best friend initially. Learn the fundamental basics concepts and facts. If I wanted to learn how to play the violin, I would read biographies and watch documentary videos about violinists like Joshua Bell, Annie-Sophie Mutter and Itzak Perlman. I would be paying meticulous attention to how these masters were brought up, how they practice, what was important for their success and level of achievement.
- Seek The Experts: Knowledge can be transferred easily, however experiences and our thinking/behavior takes time learn and change. The masters have spent countless hours and have had extensive experiences. Hire a violinist at the local symphony or a violin major at a local university to teach you. You need experts to answer questions and elaborate their experiences. If not, there are tutorial videos to be found to imitate the experience. Be very perceptive about the experts. Look for subtle nuances they exhibit. Perhaps the violin sounds louder when it is played near the bridge or why does the violinist move around so much or why is he vibrating is hand?
- Ask The Experts: I think when anyone is learning something new, they usually lack confidence and are passive. Actively questioning everything is so important for you and the expert. A question is a form of feedback to the experts, who might not be conscious of important elements because it comes to them naturally. Also it is a way of filling holes in your cognitive knowledge on a particular subject quickly. Asking the right questions are more impressive than answering one. Ask the expert why the violin bow must be tightened to a certain tension, why rosin is put on the bow, or if the holding form of the bow is correct. Remember you are trying to learn and take in information as much and fast as possible. You are a novice and know very little! Ask!
- Imitate The Experts: You know a little bit about the subject, you had practical experiences, now you must embody the expert. You must practice imitating their behavior, subtle nuances that you were able to pick up, body language and facial expressions. Imitation takes repetition. Of course, this feels very unnatural, difficult and even awkward, but remember you are trying to take as much information quickly as possible. When children learn, they imitate others a LOT! I think this is partly the reason why children learn languages easier than adults and have very good pronunciations usually. The other reason is that they usually don’t care when they make mistakes, they keep repeating and imitating what they hear. I think this is partly the reason I was able to achieve the mastery level in German in 10 months at Speak and Write institute in Marburg, Germany. During the 10 month period, I probably looked like a nut imitating natives postures, facial expressions and pronunciations, but natives say I speak like a native. It works.
- Find Relationships: The advantage of knowing many subjects is as good if you are able to connect the dots and find relationships among the various skills, knowledge and experiences you have attained. For instance, can we create a mathematical representation to demonstrate euphonious and cacophonous chords? How is DNA like a computer program? How is preparing coq au vin like managing a company? Some may sound ridiculous, but actively seeking relationships result in a fresh view on just about anything.
Two Tips
“In comfort, there is no growth. In growth, there is no comfort”
Confidence: This is crucial. A lot of people confuse confidence with being arrogant. You can be confident and genuine. Undercutting your hard work, time, effort and talent by being passive or quiet is unfortunate. We have 30,000 days in our lifetime, make those days count. Do me a favor by speaking your mind and being bold.
The Positive Feedback: Whenever you are learning something new, you are unsure whether your efforts are paying off. It is difficult and tedious work. So when there are no apparent changes, it is extremely demoralizing and hence a lot of people give up. I have given you guiding principles to quickly and most efficiently learn, however you will need to have a bit of persistence to see the initial improvement. As soon as you see improvements, it should give you confidence and the desire to push harder. This is what I call entering the positive feedback loop. You become cognizant of the improvements and this in turn fuels you to become better and push yourself.
Let me know your thoughts, critiques and questions!
