Summary of David Epstein's Range

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of David Epstein's Range in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: The Summary of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

When asked to review Range by David Epstein, Malcolm Gladwell wrote: "Epstein manages to make me thoroughly enjoy the experience of being told that everything I thought about something was wrong." In Range, Epstein knocks down one of the most believed myths in the world of self-development that each us has a certain path where he or she could thrive, and that specialization is the best way to improve performance and to benefit the society. Epstein's notion goes against everything you might've known about learning and innovating, and he supports it by referring to a wide range of topics: psychology, business, education, art, etc.

Whether you're a student, a parent, a manager or someone on the path of self-discovery, this summary of Range is for you. Through this summary, you'll understand why specialization is not the best way to improve performance and productivity, and why generalists are the ones who triumph in this world. Before reading, be prepared to be astounded and to start questioning a lot of your beliefs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jan 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638151272

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Summary

of

David Epstein’s

Range

Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

Table of Contents

Overview

Key Insights

Key Insight 1

Key Insight 2

Key Insight 3

Key Insight 4

Key Insight 5

Key Insight 6

Key Insight 7

Key Insight 8

Important People

Author’s Style

Author’s Perspective

Overview

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World (2019) by David Epstein is an argument about why generalism serves people better than narrow specialization. Deliberate practice, or the idea that any skill can be mastered with 10,000 hours of focused attention, only works in limited contexts. Most of the time, individuals who train widely or work on teams that include diverse perspectives are most likely to succeed.

In education and other forms of training, there is a heavy emphasis on getting a head start. Some parents pressure their young children to practice a particular musical instrument for hours each day in the hopes of cultivating musical genius. Other children might be encouraged to spend their free time training hard in