Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

Physical biochemist Oliver Smithies has a tradition of running “Saturday morning experiments” in which he spends weekend hours playing round with equipment and materials rather than pursuing his formal work. These explorations led to several innovations, such as “gel electrophoresis,” a method for breaking down DNA, which he developed by playing around with starch compounds. He received the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and attributes his impact on science to his curiosity about everything and willingness to explore, even if most explorations lead to failure.

Tu Youyou won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her work on treatments for malaria that are based on a traditional herbal remedy: sweet wormwood. Youyou achieved this despite the fact she had no postgraduate degree, research experience abroad, or membership in a Chinese academy of science. Like Smithies, Youyou succeeded because she was willing to think and work outside of expected paths.

Epstein points to other examples of researchers who took a deliberately amateurish approach to working and/or promoted such an approach like Smithies. Yet microbiologist Arturo Casadevall warned his peers that scientific progress had slowed, and retractions of scientific research were becoming more frequent despite the fact specialization was increasing. In one case, a study showed most physicians and medical residents could not answer a question about how to diagnose a basic hypothetical case. Casadevall argued that scientists should not be so specialized, so they could increase their abilities to think creatively. The pushing of boundaries might even be inefficient, Casadevall argues, but it is still vital as a way to make connections.

The most impactful science papers draw connections between sources not considered together elsewhere. While these connection-making works may not have the immediate impact of hyperspecialized research, they are more likely to be cited among top scientific papers in the long run. The same kind of openness and crossing of boundaries leads to innovation outside of the sciences as well.