Voices
not steeped in one industry of
choice with those coveted 10,000
hours of experience, but instead,
individuals who approach challenges with a clean lens, bringing together diverse experiences,
knowledge and opportunities.
And while experts will have
a part to play in solving today’s
looming crises where incremental
evolution is needed, I believe that
non-expert individuals will drive
disruptive innovation. Here’s why.
MYOPIC THINKING
Sure — there will always be a need
for experts, who will continue to
drive steady incremental advancements in fields such as biotechnology, environmental sciences, or
information technology. But I believe that the best ideas come from
those not immersed in the details
of a particular field. Experts, far
too often, engage in a kind of myopic thinking. Those who are down
in the weeds are likely to miss the
big picture. To my mind, an expert
is in danger of becoming a robot,
toiling ceaselessly toward a goal
but not always seeing how to connect the dots.
The human brain, or more specifically the neo-cortex, is designed to recognize patterns and
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draw conclusions from them.
Experts are able to identify such
patterns related to a specific
problem relevant to their area of
knowledge. But
because nonexperts lack that
Experts,
base of knowledge,
far too often,
they are forced to
engage in a
rely more on their
kind of myopic
brain’s ability for
thinking. Those
abstraction, rather
who are down
than specificity.
This abstraction—
in the weeds are
the ability to take
likely to miss
away or remove
the big picture.”
characteristics
from something in
order to reduce it to a set of essential characteristics—is what
presents an opportunity for creative solutions.
INNOVATION
AND INFORMATION
IN ABUNDANCE
I also believe that the value of expertise is diminished in a world
dominated by two trends: the
accelerating pace of innovation
and the ubiquity of information.
Today, technology moves at such
a rapid pace that it is nearly impossible to keep up. With technological advances occurring at