In Dune, he has Kynes, the “First Planetologist of Arrakis” (and hero of the novel’s first draft) muse that “beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans in the finite space of a planetary ecosystem as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who do survive.”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/dune-50-years-on-science-fiction-novel-world

It’s long been said that a jack of all trades is a master of none. But the myth of the superiority of specialists is apparently based on limited data, and there’s plenty of evidence, now collected in a new book, to suggest that range is the true engine of innovation and creativity in the game of life.

That’s when Epstein learned that not all professional athletes succeed thanks to their exceptional early focus. Some—like tennis champion Roger Federer—seem to have blossomed in one area despite having played many different sports in youth. Meanwhile, research on professional soccer players in Germany revealed that the best players were those who didn’t take the sport seriously until their twenties.

Most compelling of all is the evidence that having a capacity for abstraction and the ability to transfer concepts is the key to success in our “wicked” world. While it’s true that some chess grandmasters and world-class athletes start early and drill hard, this repetition is only effective in golf or games with strict rules and easily quantifiable results, Epstein says. Those are “kind” worlds with limited possibilities.

Epstein argues that people who don’t have a strict plan dictating what they will be and a narrow focus on a single interest end up making amazing contributions to the culture because they can transfer knowledge from one field to another. They understand concepts and see how these might apply to other areas, whereas the specialists are so steeped in one set of facts that they may miss the forest for the trees. If you only have one tool, you’ll use it in every situation—but you can’t use a hammer to screw things and you can’t use a saw to hammer a nail, so the wise human accumulates a bunch of tools, and getting this varied toolkit takes time.

Instead, Epstein promotes concepts. He urges individuals—and parents especially—to abandon the desire for instant gratification and easy answers as early performance on tests isn’t an indicator of professional success. He emphasizes traits over particular skills—be curious, flexible, open-minded, adventurous, experimental, and playful. Try and fail and try again. Explore. Read outside your field. Supply your mind with lots of ideas so that you can make the connections that specialists miss, helping you thrive.

https://qz.com/1638869/david-epsteins-range-argues-for-generalizing-vs-specializing/

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The entirety of human civilization is currently racing against time and resources to populate another planet so we are not trapped forever on earth. In a way we humans are a virus infecting the planet, eating away resources and attempting to find another host.