On having a thing
I think there’s a way in which being an “avid learner” is dangerous for people who want success. Maybe this is a well-known thing, but I’ve just been thinking about it an awful lot, and it’s terrifying. I’m tearing my beard out. Some thoughts:
I guess it started a while ago. Medical specialists make more than general practitioners, at least in Operation. Farther back, it was common practice for epic poets to ascribe a mnemonic adjective to their characters: swift-footed Achilles, and all that. If you wanted to be memorable, you had a value.
But then we had “Liberal Arts” colleges (forgive my liberal jumps around history). You can actually graduate from a credible college with a degree in “Liberal Arts.” Just, you know, knowing stuff. The force of education through High School, in the US at least, is “liberal arts.” I guess this is supposed to create well-balanced people. Renaissance men/women.
And then the internet has made this easier still. Wikipedia is a machine for learning random unrelated things. Being a generalist is supereasy and superfun.
But that doesn’t help much when looking for a job, though, does it? Nobody’s looking to hire a “public intellectual.” The best you can hope for is to be on Jeopardy, or something.
It’s good to have a thing, isn’t it?
The most popular actors have things that keep them famous: Robert Downey, Jr. is wacky and Bill Macy is pathetic and George Clooney is suave. Angelina Jolie has hot lips and Meryl Streep is empathetic and Jennifer Aniston can’t hold on to a man.
In music: The Black Eyed Peas make rhythmic, synthy dance music for parties. Vampire Weekend makes Graceland. Kanye West has emotional raps with sped-up samples. Even recent critical successes fall victim: Animal Collective songs have a sound, through and through. Maybe genre doesn’t matter anymore, but even a genre-free group (Dirty Projectors?) has a recognizable, idiosyncratic sound. If I play you one of their songs, you are not going to have a hard time figuring out that it is them.
Tumblr, even, which purports to spread an infinite variety of creative ideas across the social web, thrives on specialists. Those that have somehow signed book deals (LATFH, This is why you’re fat, etc.) have a one-note joke. The web’s viral success stories have become something of memetic machines. And what is a “fuckyeah”-prefixed Tumblog but an ultra-specialized aggregator?
I need a job.
End questions:
Why does “liberal arts” exist? Read any good wiki articles lately? Is it too late for me to specialize in something? Is this phenomenon what “Stillness is the Move” is about? Do you have a thing? Will you hire me?
Notes:
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kydlo reblogged this from laurenddddd
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doug liked this
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samuelhansen reblogged this from laurenddddd and added:
There is another side to this whole argument as well, having a thing does not guarantee you a place in this world. Look...
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craxy liked this
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laurenddddd reblogged this from stevespillman and added:
Steve, I disagree with you a little. I can empathize with your predicament…...lot of...
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stevespillman posted this
