In engineering and design, employers often look for people who have a so-called
"T-shaped" skill set: breadth plus depth in one area. Such people are often
called "T-shaped designers", or "T-shaped thinkers",
"having skills and knowledge that are both deep and broad"
[The hunt is on for the Renaissance Man of computing, D. Guest,
The Independent, Sept. 17, 1991]
as shown leftmost in the figure below:
Such people can be assembled into interdisciplinary teams in a manner analogous to the way plumbers join together tee-fittings with pipes. The result is a team in which each member provides depth to the team in their individual area of expertise.
I strive for something different -- -- something I call "Tree-Shaped Skills" as illustrated, rightmost in the figure above. The goal is to advance research after attaining a broad rhizomic skill set that is also deeply rooted in many disciplines -- -- to become a "master of many trades" (skills) and then focus these together to make major research breakthroughs.
This is because I believe that some unique kinds of true research breakthroughs can better be achieved when the whole idea can reside in the mind of one person. Imagine, for example, a musical symphony composed by a team or a committee! This and many other creative endeavours just can't happen in a "groupthink" environment.
This will be the topic of my Keynote Address at the eLeo Symposium (link) at OCAD University, Thursday 2013 December 5th, 10am.
Talk slides: