Everyone Is A Specialist

Our knowledge base is now so huge, that any one individual can learn only a small and narrow branch of science in their lifetime. Because of this, it has become natural for everyone to get trained in one narrow branch of science, specialize in that branch, and not pay much attention to other areas of knowledge. Thus everyone is like a cog in the wheel, specializing in one very small branch of science. For your amusement, I will relate a small story which illustrates how far this trend of specialization has gone these days. Due to unbearable ear pain a person goes to the ear department in a hospital and asks the doctor to examine him.

Doctor: What is your problem? Person: Unbearable pain, ringing in the ear, ... Doctor: Stop, stop. First tell me in which ear you have the problem. Person: Left ear. Doctor: Sorry, I am a specialist of the right ear. Please see my colleague in the next room.

Because of so much specialization, no one has a clear grasp of the overall developments in science and technology, which way they are going, and how technology is being used by others; and they do not also care.