David Epstein on Mastery, Specialization, and Range
EconTalk
English - May 27, 2019 06:30 - 1 hour - 46.7 MB - ★★★★★ - 4K ratingsCourses Education Science Social Sciences economics business books interviews history ethics Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: Mary Hirschfeld on Economics, Culture, and Aquinas and the Market
Journalist and author David Epstein talks about his book Range with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Epstein explores the costs of specialization and the value of breadth in helping to create mastery in our careers and in life. What are the best backgrounds for solving problems? Can mastery be achieved without specialization at a young age? What experiences and knowledge best prepare people to cope with unexpected situations? This is a wide-ranging conversation that includes discussion of chess, the Challenger tragedy, sports, farming in obscure Soviet provinces after the revolution, the Flynn effect and why firefighters sometimes fail to outrun forest fires.