Yeah and also it's really hard to justify to yourself spending time on more general topics. Like I should go through a general textbook or two that I'm interest

Yeah and also it's really hard to justify to yourself spending time on more general topics. Like I should go through a general textbook or two that I'm interested in, but instead I just procrastinate bc it doesn't feel worthwhile or active work. Same for keeping up with scientific news. Even within my own research group of 30 students probably only 3 students understand a given project in any depth.