Huffington Magazine Issue 5 | Page 27

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 NAVEEN JAIN HUFFINGTON 07.15.12 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