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As our society discovers and creates, we must cope with our combined knowledge growing faster than our individual capacity to know things. Our solution - thus f
by rmc 14y ago
As our society discovers and creates, we must cope with our combined knowledge growing faster than our individual capacity to know things. Our solution - thus far - has been to specialize. When what is known expands, each individual becomes responsible for less breadth and more depth.
Back in the olden days there was only one kind of computer scientist. Before that there was only one kind of car mechanic. And even before that there was only one kind of doctor, who was also a barber. We used to know a lot less about cutting hair.
Except that there has also been a trend away from specialisation. e.g. food: instead of a baker, butcher, grocer and fishmonger, you now have a supermarket. e.g. household goods: instead of a chandler, tailor, cooper or haberdashery, we have clothing & household shops.