To gain mastery of something it is necessary to specialize. Mastery is different than command, and command is sufficient for most things. Being 80% of the way there lets you cover just about every contingency in many topics, where 99% mastery would require the entirety of your time. You then find yourself completely incompetent at even basic tasks because of your extreme mastery in one area, often of limited relevancy. There are people on this Earth that understand the workings of a Neutron Star as much as any human could, but are utterly incapable of cooking for themselves.
Something you discover being a renaissance man is how often topics come up that a broad command is useful and how much overlap there is between topics. Going on an exploratory trip into something you know little about often yields gains in areas you already have a decent command. There is another utility. It makes you more useful and necessary to have around. Regardless of what is going on you will be high on the list of people to pick.
Let’s also go outside of the utilitarian pieces. It makes you into a unique person that is not a stereotype, is surprising to others, and generally more awesome.
Most of you that read what I have to write here are gunfighters. Every one of us is likely picked early, and possibly for leadership, if there is any kind of violent threat on the horizon. We’re the ones asked to pull security and ensure the safety of those around us. Collapse of Rome situation happens we’ll be Knights and Lords. Some of us even specialize in this role to probably an extreme degree and are well in the territory of diminishing returns. We may even focus on single combat to the point that we don’t understand unit or field tactics & strategy at all.
I ask you to consider the following: Would you accept a 20% reduction of your draw speed or accuracy for 60-80% understanding or ability in:
- modern information technology and security
- how to grow your own food
- biology & medicine
- law
- history of the founding of the United States
- the ability to design and build your own electrical devices
- passable hand to hand combat skills
- physical strength What if I told you that with that 20% reduction you could probably have all of those things and more? 1.2 seconds to 1.5… it wouldn’t jeopardize your status of becoming a Knight or Lord if there is a collapse. I’d posit that it would make it even more likely.
You need a lot less time to pick up 80% understanding of something than you need to get another 5% after you already have 80% and that gets worse the better you are. Think about what you’re not doing because you’re chasing a sub 1 second draw time with your CCW piece. Is that a circus trick? Is it to the exclusion of things that could be more useful or interesting? Are you not learning something you’ll need to save yourself because you’re trying to be exceptional at one thing… that you probably won’t use. Are you becoming too specialized in that one weapon? Ultra-competent at a pistol, but awkward with a rifle? Do you need YOUR pistol to do those things?
“The true science of martial arts means practicing them in such a way that they will be useful at any time, and to teach them in such a way that they will be useful in all things.” — Miyamoto Musashi
Are you doing this? Or are you simply becoming really good at the martial arts (or your job) to the exclusion of all else?
There is a final practical consideration to this as well. Coronaworld. If only versed in one field with utmost importance on that field, it seems practical, reasonable, and caring to lock down the world and perform the various forms of theater to which we’ve been subjected. Or with a different focus it seems as if absolutely nothing should have or could have been done, so life needed to continue on 100% as normal. It can make one selfish and unable to balance the rights and concerns of others with your own. A laser focus health and safety as the most important thing at the exclusion of all others is a problem. Not understanding science to the point that MDs and scientists are elevated to some kind of priesthood is a problem. Fear and ignorance causing people to look to government to save them, using force, because that individual didn’t know what to do is a massive problem. Government (and nearly every other institution) being corrupt to the point it cannot be trusted, ever, is a massive problem. Most people were and are ignorant on at least one aspect of Coronaworld, some due to overspecialization and their coping mechanism for that overspecialization: listening to other overspecialists. With command of multiple areas this touched on it all seemed insane and wrong from day 1, while still being a real problem. Just that seemingly everyone was wrong but for different reasons, usually due to a narrow focus.
What brought this post on is a discussion on a chat server the other day about how you gender a turtle. I know the answer. I used to do some work with an animal rescue and education organization that had all kinds of critters. I know a lot of things about the animal world because sometimes I learn more about it rather than spending more time on my dry draws. Instead of going to the range every weekend, I go hiking, go to constitutional study, and build things. It is critically important that you are not just one thing, you have more than one interest, and more than one hobby. It’s critically important that you know things that others don’t expect you to know. It really is how you inoculate yourself from becoming a zombie.
Don’t be a stereotype.