One of the travesties of our society is that it cannot be put separately in the binary of General or specific.
Holding a specialization has always been up for humanity and its movement further. But the exponential change in time has normalized the generalization of knowledge and skill. Earlier with limited and completely non-related areas of work, it was quite demanding to excel in more than one skill. Later with the arrival of technology and innovation of ideas, society has warmly welcomed several derivatives of one job or interest. Nowadays one can easily use their skill of music to write a book about it, making them a musician as well a writer.
The question surfacing the argument is whether a person should be a specialist of one skill or is it a good thing to juggle between different tasks? In a plate decorated with fruits we need specialists for each fruit to analyze them for us but simultaneously we need a person who is comfortable with every fruit so that all the can be placed there in the first place.
Choosing between generalization and specialization should be up to the individual according to their personality type. Some people are too focused and need a clear path in their head while others are too restless to stop at one single point. To impose specialization on the latter type would be unfair to the individual as well as to society’s growth. Although being involved in many things at the same time does not give any excuse to leave any task unfinished. Jumping onto another task without justifying the first one is a personality flaw without any valid reasoning.
Many people are disgusted by the idea of sticking to a single skill. They feel trapped and stagnant. But every path leads to the destination of evolution. There is always room for development depending upon how much work a person is willing to do upon themselves. With rapid phase of development, a dimension of each skill is changing day by day. It is expected by the candidates to keep up with the changes even though they are specialists.
Being Jack of all trades has its negative aspects too. Many people involved in several tasks suffer from the fear of commitment. This choice certainly blooms freedom and flexibility but it also requires commitment and self-discipline from individual’s side. To serve our society only bright beads of specialists will be ineffective unless they are tied with the thread of generalists. The society needs a blend of both, one to see the bigger picture and other to colour that picture with specific colours.
Famous personalities like Da Vinci, Sigmund Freud were efficient and had a flair for more than one genre. Da Vinci was a successful painter and innovator while Freud was a psychologist, philosopher, literature enthusiast, writer and a keen observer. Humans have various dimensions to their personality; to work upon solely one trait should be their choice, not society’s demand.