PESHAWAR: Speakers at a function have asked students to embrace a diverse range of disciplines and experiences because in the rapidly evolving world a generalist with a broad skill set and knowledge base can often lead to success than a narrow specialist.

The session was arranged by a volunteer organisation ‘Peshawar Circles’ on a book titled ‘Range -- Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialised World’, authored by David Epstein. The event held at Archives Library Hall was attended by a large number of students and bibliophiles.

Mohammad Haris Karim Khan presented a summary of the bestselling book. He said that he author brought forth a wealth of knowledge through examples, anecdotes, stories and practical applications. “Moreover, David covers a vast array of topics, ranging from sports all the way to hyper-specialised scientific research,” he added.

Moderating the event, Syed Hasnian pointed out that the number of the participants in the event had swelled up since establishment of the organisation owing to fruitful debates and sharing of views and ideas.

Speakers say specialists and generalists thrive when they work together

Shafeeq Gigyani, head of Peshawar Circles, gave a general review of the title. He said that the book encouraged embracing a diverse range of disciplines and experiences. He said that the author challenged the prevailing notion that early specialisation was the key to excellence.

The keynote speaker at the event was Ishtiaq Azim from Lahore University of Management Sciences. Highlighting the main points of the book under debate, he said that David Epstein underscored the benefits of inter-disciplinary thinking drawing, insights from various fields to solve complex problems.

He stated that both specialists and generalists made contributions. “Whereas specialists are adept at working for a long time on difficult technical problems and for anticipating development obstacles, the generalists tend to get bored working in one area for too long,” he added.

Mr Azim said that generalists integrated various domains, taking technology from one area and applying it in others. More important, though, was to know that specialists and generalists thrived when they worked together, he added.

He said stated that according to David, deep analogical thinking was the practice of recognising conceptual similarities in multiple domains or scenarios that might seem to have little in common on the surface.

“After all, in a confused and inaccurate world, relying upon experiences from a single domain is not only limiting but it can be disastrous,” said Mr Azim.

The study circle was followed by a question and answer session. The keynote speaker responded to queries of participants. Hamza, Haseeb, Rayyan and Maria also spoke at the event.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2023