Reflections on an Odd Life

One of my problems

I love being a generalist. I think there’s way too much specialization in life today. I understand the whole Paradox of Choice and the Long Tail and all that, but I think we’ve swung much too far in the other direction. Too many people today (especially in academia) don’t know enough about enough. One of the joys of being a journalist is the ability to jump from one topic to another each day. My section in Washingtonian each month includes some sports, some media, some politics, some books, some food/drink, some entertainment, and some gossip.

One effect of my wide-ranging interests is that I end up wanting to write books about too many different things. Easily once a month I come up with a book topic that I’d love to do and spend a year researching and writing. This year already I’ve had serious conversations about six different book ideas and have three more kicking around now, even though I think I’m settling down on one of them now. Sometimes I wish I was interested in less things so I could be more focused in my professional life.

Sigh.