A Generalist Is Actually A Specialist In Generalizing

What is a generalist?

I think everyone is familar with terms like "generalist", "polyglot", or "jack of all trades". In my opinion, they probably all mean the same thing. A person who is good at multiple thing. Oh, but that does not sound clear at all. What are things? and when can you say that a person is good or not. If you define 'things' as in skills, how specific are you talking about? Can I be a generalist by knowing a dozen of different of programming languages. However, I can also be a generalist if I know how play the piano, paint, programming, speak a second language, play sports and great at cooking too. In the first case, am I a generalist by having skills in multiple programming languages or am I specialist since I am highly knowledgeable in the single topic of programming?

Generalist vs Specialist

My answer is that you're probably both. My definition of specialist and generalist is usually inclusive of both. At first glance, a person who know a lot of programming languages seem like a generalist but when you look deeper, you realize they've actually specialized in something quite specific: the meta-skill of learning programming languages. They understand the underlying patterns, the common paradigms, and how to transfer knowledge between syntaxes. That's not generalism—that's specialization in linguistic adaptation within the programming domain.

Take another example: someone who speaks five languages fluently. Are they a language generalist? At surface level, sure. But dig deeper and you'll find they've become specialists in language acquisition itself. They've mastered the patterns of grammar structures, developed strategies for vocabulary retention, and honed their ear for phonetic nuances. They're not just collecting languages; they're specializing in the art of linguistic convergence.

The same logic applies to that person who plays piano, paints, programs, speaks multiple languages, excels at sports, and cooks amazingly. What looks like scattered expertise is actually deep specialization in cross-domain pattern recognition. They've become specialists in identifying the fundamental principles that govern skill acquisition across different fields. They see the connection between muscle memory in piano and sports, between the logical structures in programming and cooking recipes, between the creative flow in painting and language learning.

This is why I believe the generalist-specialist distinction is often a false dichotomy. Every apparent generalist is actually a specialist in disguise—specialized in synthesis, in meta-learning, in finding the common threads that weave through seemingly unrelated domains. They've developed what you might call "transferable expertise", the ability to rapidly extract principles from one area and apply them to another.

So when someone asks whether they're a generalist or specialist, maybe the better question is: what are you really specialized in? Because chances are, underneath that broad knowledge base lies a very specific and valuable expertise in connecting dots that others can't even see.