I think pi-shaped is even better, connect two fields which you know deeply.
Why T-shaped people? (2018)
11–20 of 125 posts
Re: Why T-shaped people? (2018)
#12Upvote if you identify as T-shaped
Re: Why T-shaped people? (2018)
#13Maybe I didn't understand the article correctly, but are there any people, especially on HN, that identify as specialists? By that I mean, they only know one skill, and that's it, they don't consider themselves T shaped.
If you don't forage/cultivate your own food, weave your own clothes, and build your own shelter, you're a specialist. All humans are specialists and this is probably our single biggest evolutionary advantage. The trend toward increased specialization is obvious to me so this and the previous discussion about being a generalist vs. specialist are strange.
Re: Why T-shaped people? (2018)
#14I expected this to be about 3D modeling and default pose.
I came here for Roblox avatars and was disappointed
Re: Why T-shaped people? (2018)
#15Maybe I didn't understand the article correctly, but are there any people, especially on HN, that identify as specialists? By that I mean, they only know one skill, and that's it, they don't consider themselves T shaped.
I've seen a good amount people that identify themselves as DB people or QA people or sysadmins and wanted to know nothing outside their corner of the woods. As in "don't even explain that to me, just do your part" that was often a source of problems.
Once a client demanded that we worked with some encryption framework that required open ports. A delegation of the crypto company had to come to spend the day and hold some meetings because the networks people couldn't take my word for it.
Re: Why T-shaped people? (2018)
#16Maybe I didn't understand the article correctly, but are there any people, especially on HN, that identify as specialists? By that I mean, they only know one skill, and that's it, they don't consider themselves T shaped.
If you don't forage/cultivate your own food, weave your own clothes, and build your own shelter, you're a specialist. All humans are specialists and this is probably our single biggest evolutionary advantage. The trend toward increased specialization is obvious to me so this and the previous discussion about being a generalist vs. specialist are strange.
GP maybe means T shaped within their specialism?
Like a coder who does embedded systems but also knows a bit about how to write a webpage and how databases work.
Re: Why T-shaped people? (2018)
#17Maybe I didn't understand the article correctly, but are there any people, especially on HN, that identify as specialists? By that I mean, they only know one skill, and that's it, they don't consider themselves T shaped.
Of course.
All I can do at decent level is computer related stuff, call me one trick pony.
Meanwhile I know people who are perfectly capable making money of truck driving, drilling, a lot of construction related work, simple mechanics, and a lot of more.
Re: Why T-shaped people? (2018)
#18I expected this to be about 3D modeling and default pose.
For me it was people in the gym that skips legs day. Actually a good metaphor is absolutely required to create some ambiguity.
Re: Why T-shaped people? (2018)
#19I think pi-shaped is even better, connect two fields which you know deeply.
I agree with this.
It's very difficult to become one of the best in one field, but it's much easier to become one of the best in the cross-section of two fields.
Re: Why T-shaped people? (2018)
#20Rather than trying to be T-shaped, I think it is better to be curious and follow up learning paths on those innate feelings for exploration. Maybe your skill set becomes fractal looking. I think this can be the basis for unique value creation. (E.g. the typography course Steve Jobs did as a student, leading to care/attention to fonts on the early Macs).
I do agree with the basic idea of being T-shaped, however. I've personally seen project teams having fragile delivery capability due to a lack of skills, or lack of skill overlaps, which made the team reliant on individuals that could be off sick, on vacation, or assigned elsewhere.