Jack of all trades and master of many

America is a country of superlatives. Americans don't miss a chance to label something as the largest, brightest, tallest, biggest etc. etc. I remember seeing the world's tallest thermometer on my way to Las Vegas, in Baker, California. An inch of a place ready to brag about it's size of 'something'. Very nice.
There is a constant worry and fear that America is slipping away from being the most powerful nation in the world. I am sure that there is data to support that hypothesis. It's a good sign to know when you are slipping away. Being born & brought up in India, I know what complacency can do to you. A false belief of everything is okay and no need to worry is diabolical. A healthy worry or optimistic paranoia makes you think multiple times before making a choice. Anyway. Off topic.

In the increasingly knowledge based economy, ideas and innovation play a bigger role and while there is a depth of knowledge, there is also a breadth of knowledge. While it is very important that you have a sound understanding of a domain, but, it is becoming increasingly more important that you understand multiple domains (not the usual jack of all trades and master of none but more like jack of all trades and master of many). Leonardo Da Vinci was one such example. He was probably as much of a scientist or technologist as he was a painter. At some point, specialization kicked off, and we ventured into specialized domains. Now, the time has come to merge them back because, otherwise, just by looking at a part of the problem leads to an incomplete solution. So, I think it's okay to be not being number 1 in something but 2nd , 3rd or 4th is also fine. Because, the time, effort and in general resource required to be number one is way more than being 2nd, 3rd or 4th in something. But, the advantage may not be as much. There is a marginal difference in output gain but you will be in public scrutiny and intense pressure to be number one all the time. It might be a blow to ego but it's a good thing in the long run. Like the investment philosophy of diversification(not keeping all eggs in one basket), knowledge diversification will also works it's magic.