A Conversation With "Range" Author David Epstein

What are some of the biggest misconceptions about specialization or generalization? There's this feeling that because there's more knowledge in the world, you should specialize more. I think people often don't feel like they're specialized enough when, in fact, a lot of the research shows that there's actually more opportunities than ever for broad... See more

This is a concept some people call skill stacking, where you don't have to be the best at any particular thing, but you accumulate diverse experiences, then bring these unique skills that are ordinary in one area to some other area where they're extraordinary. It gives you a unique place and special power in your work.

What's something readers can do to improve themselves after reading your book? Make sure they're constantly hunting for match quality, which is the term economists use for the degree of fit between an individual's abilities and interests and the work they do. It turns out to be incredibly important for one's sense of fulfillment and for performance... See more

starting in the late 1980s, with the explosion of the knowledge economy, people who were broader—who had worked across numerous technological domains—started making the biggest impacts. That's continuing today.