Specialisation Is For Insects | David Epstein | Modern Wisdom Podcast 084

Lateral Thinking

Lateral thinking and interdisciplinary knowledge have led to significant breakthroughs in various fields. David Epstein shares the story of multilayer optical film, a technology that revolutionized screen brightness and battery efficiency by integrating knowledge from adjacent fields 1. Another example is Gunpei Yokoi, who transformed Nintendo by applying lateral thinking with outdated technology, leading to the creation of the Game Boy 1.

Lateral thinking, meaning taking knowledge from one area where it's sort of ordinary, and bringing it somewhere else.

--- David Epstein

These examples highlight the power of combining diverse knowledge to innovate beyond traditional boundaries 2.

   

External Solutions

External problem solving leverages diverse perspectives to tackle challenges that specialists may overlook. David Epstein discusses how Eli Lilly's VP of Research and Development used external resources to solve complex problems by posting them online, leading to unexpected solutions from non-experts 3. This approach was so successful that it inspired the creation of InnoCentive, a platform for crowdsourcing solutions across disciplines 3.

The problem is we're telling everybody to become frogs. And when disciplines and science changes, that becomes a big problem.

--- David Epstein

This method underscores the importance of integrating specialist and generalist knowledge for effective problem-solving 4.