Being the Jack of all Trades

We have heard the saying "jack of all trades, master of none". There are different perceptions of this saying. If the term "master" is considered as the label for expertise and excellence then "jack" would be mediocre or person who spreads himself thin over a broader skill set.

In the modern world, it is he who specializes who survives and thrives. I believe it's after all the society which demands specialization or needs us to gain 'expertise' in particular field and remain alien to other things. Yes, you might have a natural inclination to some skill and you might have achieved certain level of mastery in it, but this doesn't mean you shouldn't be open to new fields and experiences.

I personally wish to be the person who can be asked to fix any kind of problem. I like to be creative in my interests and try to involve myself in fields which are far apart. Obviously no one can be Leonardo da Vinci now whose wiki page describes him as a "polymath, painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer."

Being fearless in our choices and interests finally defines who we are. There is no point knowing every particular detail about a field and still digging deeper rather than taking a walk around the neighboring field. It's refreshing to dive into something new. I like to read about politics, arts, sports, geography, history; I sketch or paint often; I like to play hard; I can speak to a crowd; I am curious about things which do not necessarily have link to my field of study or profession. Now, this might make you think I have short attention span and you might be right. #Bummer 

But there are scientific studies that show that when you try different things out for periods of time and you gain proficiency in different creative fields, those things build upon each other. It helps you approach problems with more creativity and more ingenuity. Having experienced that often myself, there are some negative perceptions too of being "jack". Doing a bunch of things together will lead to very slow rate of proficiency gain in those fields. But choosing one path and pursuing it wholeheartedly will make you the "master" of it in lesser time.

It sure is a debatable topic. Being a master is great because they are more popular, paid more than the "jacks", they have more influence and hence more followers. But if you are a "jack" you have insight to many areas, you can be a sort of 'Swiss knife' which can perform different tasks. Of course, there will be times when a "jack" might fail due to lack of expertise but then comes his ability to befriend a "master" of that field and get the work done finally. 

I might sound biased towards the "jack team" (myself being a part of it), but I find the "masters" boring. I don't want to be a Nobel Prize winner in certain field of science at the age of 50 and not know how to play basketball or paint or even talk to people.

Why be so simple? Be too complex to be categorized or labeled.
Look far and wide.  There are worlds to conquer!!