wing_san's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
illusivelf's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
1. The absence of inline citations was annoying. Also the way in which he described papers and authors - it's a style I'm not fond of, but I got used to it towards the end.
2. First part of the book made me feel a lot more comfortable with my background and aspirations, which are all over the place. It was really inspiring to see that the specialization path is not the only path.
3. I really liked the implications of tension for decision making and innovation. Following hunches, sense-making, and policies of productive disagreement.
2. First part of the book made me feel a lot more comfortable with my background and aspirations, which are all over the place. It was really inspiring to see that the specialization path is not the only path.
3. I really liked the implications of tension for decision making and innovation. Following hunches, sense-making, and policies of productive disagreement.
zsadiez's review against another edition
3.0
v v v critical message if this is a new concept, long and obvious to all the chronically indecisive girlies
paperfemme's review against another edition
4.0
What an affirming read. Some very useful perspectives and strategies that i've implemented already. This is a really good one for anyone trying to sort out what their next big professional move might be. And for parents (of the under 50 age range).
reggiewoods's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
The theme of Range is simple, people with diverse experience typically have greater contributions to the world, even though the modern world has become exponentially structured around hyper-specialization. I’m sure there is criticism of Range because of the large percentage of anecdotes used to illustrate Epstein’s thesis, but that is exactly what makes it fun to read. Like many, I fall into the “Jack of all trades, master of none” type and have constantly felt the pressure to find my field to specialize in so I could succeed. Range alleviated a lot of that guilt and anxiety by providing example after example of people having success in a myriad of different fields who were all “late starters.” Epstein calls out our University system and the business world for churning out increasingly narrow-minded experts who don’t have the means to think outside the box. I don’t consider this a self-help book because it does not really tell you how to succeed so much as how many people have found success. There is some advice for parents included, and a call for change (mainly recognizing the value of generalists), but mostly I found it to be an entertaining read of mini-bios of successful people, both historical and modern (famous and not), supported by references to scientific studies. While the worlds shove stories of child prodigies down your throat, Range tells you about the ones who changed careers later and life and then were able to change the world, which they could not have done without their previous experience.