the multi-passionate person

I like the term generalist, it’s one of the best descriptions of my career(s) and also a good representation of something I see as vital: being able to understand different domains and translate between them.

We live in an age where deep-specialization is highly encouraged — the era of what tech analyst Vinnie Mirchandani calls the “monomath.” Doctors specialize, lawyers specialize, academics specialize, mechanics specialize ... just about everyone professionally specializes. The more deeply you specialize, the more money you’re likely to make.

And that’... See more

Rather than creating walls to hold everything out, ideas, skills and knowledge need to intersect. The cross-pollination will bring forth the needed material to proceed on the path. Mastery for them can look like pursuing multiple subjects at once or diving deeply into one for a season and then shifting focus to another.

The activist and technologist Pia Mancini once told me about the emergence of a new word in Barcelona: yosotros — a combination of “I” (”yo”) and “We” (”nosotros”) that represents the collective I, the singular We. The term emerged through political movements, but its implications feel bigger. Could this represent a form of collective self? A new p... See more

I don’t believe in overly-strict specialization. It’s too limiting. So, we push our coders to learn how to write well. We encourage our technicians to learn programming. We even bought a laser cutter to help our designers tinker. We push them out of their particular specializations to keep them learning. It’s a little uncomfortable, and sometimes t... See more

When everything is in flux, we need people who can move across worlds. In times of upheaval, grief, anxiety and rising discomfort, polymaths—those who wear many hats, blend skills, and cross disciplines—are essential.They thrive in the spaces between, finding connections others might miss.When things shift beneath us, it’s these transitional thinke... See more