This is particularly the case when embarking on a PhD. The process thrusts
one down an ever more detailed funnel as we seek original research
questions. Focus focus focus tends to translate into detail detail detail
and the push for less generalised thinking, more niched understanding and
speculation. It is a fascinating path, albeit somewhat at odds with the
generalists amongst us....................
Mark Ransom
-----Original Message-----
From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related
research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Don
Norman
Sent: 10 February 2012 17:15
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Where science fails
Addendum: Where science fails
5. The emergence of narrow specialties
As the body of knowledge in science increases, it gets more and more
difficult to keep up with the entire filed. Moreover, more and more
specialized knowledge and skills are required to understand, follow, and add
to the ever-increasing body of knowledge. As a result, science becomes more
and more specialized.
The filed is divided up into an increasing number of disciplines, each some
subset of previous disciplines. Periodically there is a cry for
multi-disciplinary research, and people across disciplines get together and
discover that the combination of their fields yields new insights and
advances in understanding. This attracts more people to the domain, more
funding for research, and more students eager to explore the new area. As a
result, this new interdisciplinary field becomes codified as a discipline.
In a few decades, it will be as established as any of the older disciplines,
and the younger workers will start crying out for the need for
multi-disciplinary research.
This disease actually impacts much of the university, not just science. The
push toward ultra-specialization is aided by the promotion polices of
universities that increasingly want evidence that the faculty are the top
workers in the field. This is measured through publication in peer-reviewed
venues and by letters from other international authorities. But each
authority only knows the workers in their own sub discipline. The person who
publishes in several disciplines is apt to get lost, for each judge states
that they barely know the person, or that there have been only a few
publications, for they are unaware of all the work done in disciplines they
themselves do not follow.
Design is one of the few exceptions to this rule. Design is a practice, and
practices must cut across disciplines, using the knowledge, methods, and
findings of multiple disciplines in order to create valuable and useful
artifacts. Great designers are generalists, knowing a little about many
different topics.
The world needs more generalists. Unfortunately, the world of the university
does not know how to evaluate generalists. Each evaluator speaks of how
little the generalist knows in their own field of specialization, a point
that is true. But the generalist who knows a little bit about many topics
has just as much valuable knowledge and understanding as the specialist who
knows a lot about a tiny slice of knowledge.
Alas, the formal requirements of university assessment do not know how to
take generalists into account.
Don Norman
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