Integrative, macroscopic thinking sees the forest and the trees

In general, a specialist knows a lot about a narrow scope of things in a given domain. In the same way, a superspecialist knows nearly everything that is knowable about an even narrower scope of things in a given domain. We could think of this as the ability to focus on and understand a tree.

In this analogy, integrative, macroscopic thinking is the ability to understand how the trees function as part of an ecosystem called a forest. It is the result of range and the ability to understand how the parts form (and may exceed the sum of) the whole. It is this kind of thinking that leads to innovation, as it can reach across unrelated disciplines in order to apply ideas and concepts from one to another.

#cognition #strategic #innovation

See also:

• Integrative, Macroscopic Thinking is antithetical to higher education
• Lateral thinking is range in action
• Specialization tends to reduce range
• An idea is a new connection between two things

%% [^1]: Thus, if left unchecked, the drive toward specialization could lead to people who know everything about nothing.