Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

“Whether or not experience inevitably led to expertise, they agree, depended entirely on the domain in question.”

Epstein discusses the distinction that psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Gary Klein make between kind environments and wicked environments. He notes their concepts conclude that sustained, focused, and repetitive practice does not necessarily lead to expertise; instead, the relationship between experience and expertise depends on context. Throughout Range, Epstein leverages this point to argue for more diverse and exploratory paths in creative pursuits, research, education, and other fields. 

“In the wicked world, with ill-defined challenges and few rigid rules, range can be a life hack.”

Because wicked environments lack clearly defined and preset options or solutions, and because feedback in those environments is rarely direct or immediate, pattern-based responses to problems in those environments often fail. Epstein argues that in those environments, the ability to think creatively, laterally, and even from an amateur perspective and the freedom to explore—otherwise seen as a lack of focus—can be real assets. Epstein uses this technique of turning an ostensibly negative idea into a positive concept elsewhere in Range, as when Chapters 10 and 11 show failure can be a means of growth and positive change. 

“[A] little training in broad thinking strategies, like Fermi-izing, can go a long way, and can be applied across domains.”

Enrico Fermi was an influential scientist who had a knack for utilizing rough estimates leveraging reason instead of large amounts of data. For Epstein, the idea of making approximations and guestimates is a powerful tool in problem solving.