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> Working a lot, especially on one thing, makes us stupid, I think. Quite the opposite: working a lot on one thing, usually, means deep focus and, as a result,
by dennisgorelik 7y ago
> Working a lot, especially on one thing, makes us stupid, I think.
Quite the opposite: working a lot on one thing, usually, means deep focus and, as a result, getting deep specialized knowledge and skills. That is smart, not stupid.
But I understand why it is tempting to think that hard work is making us stupid: it is an excuse for not doing the hard work.
- ravenstine 7y agoDid you read the rest of what I wrote? I'm not saying that deep focus on a narrow set of skills doesn't have benefits, and perhaps the word "stupid" was a poor choice of words. Of course focus on specialized knowledge is a "smart" thing. Expertise doesn't make anyone literally stupid, but the necessity of focus in my field and my experience has made me less effective and less knowledgeable about the world around me. I'm not coming up with excuses for not doing the hard work; I already did the hard work.