The Case Against Specialization

In one of my weekly read, the Weekend Briefing, it was pointed out that when we specialize, we become less creative. We become the expert and don’t see the next opportunity. Google and Search come to mind for anyone?

David Sackett, a pioneering physician-researcher and founder of the evidence-based medicine movement, believed experts should quit their field once they become established. He argued that experts tend to retard progress in their field because they generate innovative ideas before becoming famous and then spend the rest of their careers defending those prior notions.

Sackett argues that younger people, who are not yet established experts, tend to come up with new ideas until they too become experts who resist change.

Sackett proposes that once you have mastered a field, you should move on to tackle new domains where you can again make important novel contributions.

You'll never know if your next big breakthrough lies in an entirely different domain unless you quit your current specialty. Psychology Today (7 minutes).

In today’s tough tech world, recruiters and hiring managers want experts and only experts who know the AI field. I would argue they are falling into the same trap Google is now trying to dig itself out of. Technologists are great at learning new technology. If you are a hiring manager or recruiter, I implore you to give a smart person skilled at learning and creative thinking a shot at your next AI role instead of insisting that they must have AI experience to be effective.

While we can’t change the world overnight to help it see those without the “perfect” experience can help solve the problem from a different perspective, please keep this in mind as we have to compete in a world clamoring for experts. If you know how to think creatively, and focus on the user problems, you could lead us to the next breakthrough in AI.