--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The dilemma is this. In the modern world…" description: "\"“The dilemma is this. In the modern world knowledge has been growing so fast and so enormously, in almost every field, that the probabilities are immen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/henry-hazlitt-2839_generalist_the-dilemma-is-this-in-the-modern-world_1849264.jpg" --- # The dilemma is this. In the modern world knowledge has… ![“The dilemma is this. In the modern world knowledge has been growing so fast and so enormously, in almost every field, that the probabilities are immensely against anybody, no matter how innately clever, being able to make a contribution in any one field unless he devotes all his time to it for…” quote by Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/henry-hazlitt-2839_generalist_the-dilemma-is-this-in-the-modern-world_1849264.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/henry-hazlitt-2839_generalist_the-dilemma-is-this-in-the-modern-world_1849264.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/henry-hazlitt-2839_generalist_the-dilemma-is-this-in-the-modern-world_1849264.jpg) > ““The dilemma is this. In the modern world knowledge has been growing so fast and so enormously, in almost every field, that the probabilities are immensely against anybody, no matter how innately clever, being able to make a contribution in any one field unless he devotes all his time to it for years. If he tries to be the Rounded Universal Man, like Leonardo da Vinci, or to take all knowledge for his province, like Francis Bacon, he is most likely to become a mere dilettante and dabbler. But if he becomes too specialized, he is apt to become narrow and lopsided, ignorant on every subject but his own, and perhaps dull and sterile even on that because he lacks perspective and vision and has missed the cross-fertilization of ideas that can come from knowing something of other subjects.”” [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rapid knowledge expansion forces a choice between deep specialization and broad, shallow learning; both extremes have drawbacks. **In simple terms:** Too much knowledge forces a choice: specialize deeply or be a generalist, each with risks. Key Takeaway Find a balanced approach to learning. Themes education specialization knowledge balance Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - academic research - personal development - interdisciplinary projects Key Concepts cognitive science philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What area should you specialize in without losing breadth? - How can you integrate diverse fields into your work? A Different Perspective Specialization may limit adaptability; generalism may lack depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/da-vinci/) [Dilemma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dilemma/) [Generalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generalist/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Modern world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-world/) ## Related quotes > [“If you crave for Knowledge, the banquet of Knowledge grows and groans on the board until the finer appetite sickens. 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I'm not a pastry cook, but I've had to learn a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/because-i-ve-done-a-lot-of-television-i-m-sort-of-a-generalist-i-m/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [There's only one Anderson Silva. I think he's a specialist and a generalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-st-pierre/there-s-only-one-anderson-silva-i-think-he-s-a-specialist-and-a/) [Georges St-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-st-pierre/) > [In this age of specialization, I sometimes think of myself as the last 'generalist' in economics, with interests that range from mathematical economics down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/in-this-age-of-specialization-i-sometimes-think-of-myself-as-the-last/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [“In addition to his instinct for discerning patterns across disciplines, Leonardo honed two other traits that aided his scientific pursuits: an omnivorous curiosity, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/in-addition-to-his-instinct-for-discerning-patterns-across/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [I went to the Louvre in Paris, and I saw all the paintings and the Mona Lisa. You don't really see something like that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-fallon/i-went-to-the-louvre-in-paris-and-i-saw-all-the-paintings-and-the/) [Brian Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-fallon/) > [Become an expert in one fundamental area of your market or business, no one starts out as a generalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-alfred-taubman/become-an-expert-in-one-fundamental-area-of-your-market-or-business/) A. Alfred Taubman > [I tend to be such a generalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemi-badenoch/i-tend-to-be-such-a-generalist/) [Kemi Badenoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemi-badenoch/) > [“Like if Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles started being all bummed out about everything. How were we going to kick arse if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dougie-poynter/like-if-leonardo-from-the-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-started-being/) [Dougie Poynter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dougie-poynter/) > [No one achieves greatness by becoming a generalist. You don't hone a skill by diluting your attention to its development. The only way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/no-one-achieves-greatness-by-becoming-a-generalist-you-don-t-hone-a/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [I would want like Leonardo Dicaprio's dirt, because he doesn't have any out there. We never see any bad press about him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-schulz/i-would-want-like-leonardo-dicaprio-s-dirt-because-he-doesn-t-have/) [Andrew Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-schulz/) > [Every one of my opponents, every one of my critics, will tell you that I am a generalist spread far too thin in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/every-one-of-my-opponents-every-one-of-my-critics-will-tell-you-that/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) ## More by Henry Hazlitt > [It is often sadly remarked that the bad economists present their errors to the public better than the good economists present their truths. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad-economists-present-their/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [“This is perhaps as good a place as any to point out that what distinguishes many reformers from those who cannot accept their proposals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/this-is-perhaps-as-good-a-place-as-any-to-point-out-that-what/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Government can't give us anything without depriving us of something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/government-can-t-give-us-anything-without-depriving-us-of-something/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [When the government makes loans or subsidies to business, what it does is to tax successful private business in order to support unsuccessful private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/when-the-government-makes-loans-or-subsidies-to-business-what-it-does/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [“The analysis of our illustrations has taught us another incidental lesson. This is that, when we study the effects of various proposals, not merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-analysis-of-our-illustrations-has-taught-us-another-incidental/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [There is a profound contrast between the effects of foreign aid and of voluntary private investment: foreign aid goes from government to government. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/there-is-a-profound-contrast-between-the-effects-of-foreign-aid-and/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, but in a score of ways discourages capital accumulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-mounting-burden-of-taxation-not-only-undermines-individual/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Multiculturalism means your kid has to learn some wretched tribal dirge for the school holiday concert instead of getting to sing 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/multiculturalism-means-your-kid-has-to-learn-some-wretched-tribal/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [It is possible to increase paper-money income to any amount by debasing the currency. But real income can only be increased by working harder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-possible-to-increase-paper-money-income-to-any-amount-by/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Inflation makes the extension of socialism possible by providing the financial chaos in which it flourishes. The fact is that socialism and inflation are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/inflation-makes-the-extension-of-socialism-possible-by-providing-the/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [“the desperate need to get back to normal housing and other living conditions stimulated increased efforts. But this does not mean that property destruction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-desperate-need-to-get-back-to-normal-housing-and-other-living/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Yet it ought to be clear that a minimum wage law is, at best, a limited weapon for combatting the evil of low wages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/yet-it-ought-to-be-clear-that-a-minimum-wage-law-is-at-best-a-limited/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [“It is a misconception to think of the function or result of machines as primarily one of creating jobs . The real result of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-a-misconception-to-think-of-the-function-or-result-of-machines/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [A certain amount of taxes is of course indispensable to carry on essential government functions. Reasonable taxes for this purpose need not hurt production…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/a-certain-amount-of-taxes-is-of-course-indispensable-to-carry-on/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [A vital function of the free market is to penalize inefficiency and misjudgment and to reward efficiency and good judgment. By distorting economic calculations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/a-vital-function-of-the-free-market-is-to-penalize-inefficiency-and/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) [Explore all 148 Henry Hazlitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) ## More Dilemma quotes > [“When in dilemma, pause.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sravani-saha-nakhro/when-in-dilemma-pause/) [Sravani Saha Nakhro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sravani-saha-nakhro/) > [Anyone who will look at my life from the outside won't see the struggles inside. Sometimes, things are not always as we see or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanda-kaushik/anyone-who-will-look-at-my-life-from-the-outside-won-t-see-the/) [Chanda Kaushik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanda-kaushik/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I understand why creative people like dark, but American audiences dont like dark. They like story. They do not respond to nervous breakdowns and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-moonves/i-understand-why-creative-people-like-dark-but-american-audiences/) [Leslie Moonves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-moonves/) > [“How can we get what we really want and at the same time deal with the needs of others in our lives? Perhaps no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ury/how-can-we-get-what-we-really-want-and-at-the-same-time-deal-with-the/) [William Ury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ury/) > [Pure, hard-core liberals believe in a superior race. They think they're it. They believe they're more intelligent than the general run of mankind, better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/pure-hard-core-liberals-believe-in-a-superior-race-they-think-they-re/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [On earth where love lives, Also the place where dilemma exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddhachild/on-earth-where-love-lives-also-the-place-where-dilemma-exists/) [BuddhaChild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddhachild/) > [“Such elusive puzzles recall the historian's basic dilemma: the absence of evidence does not always signify evidence of absence. In the end, we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-markel/such-elusive-puzzles-recall-the-historian-s-basic-dilemma-the-absence/) Howard Markel > [This is our problem, our dilemma, yes? We cannot celebrate and declare ourselves to belong to the victorious nations because our brothers and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manfred-rommel/this-is-our-problem-our-dilemma-yes-we-cannot-celebrate-and-declare/) [Manfred Rommel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manfred-rommel/) > [“It was the dilemma all three of us had. Every choice we made cut us off permanently from someone we loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/it-was-the-dilemma-all-three-of-us-had-every-choice-we-made-cut-us/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [As the Hindu gods are 'immortal' only in a very particular sense - for they had born and they die - they experience most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-the-hindu-gods-are-immortal-only-in-a-very-particular-sense-for-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Science is important, but so is ethics, so is balancing life. To destroy life to save life - it's one of the real ethical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/science-is-important-but-so-is-ethics-so-is-balancing-life-to-destroy/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [The great thing about the dilemma we're in is that we get to re-imagine every single thing we do...There isn't a single thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/the-great-thing-about-the-dilemma-we-re-in-is-that-we-get-to-re/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [Our only goal is to strengthen the opposition and to avoid the dilemma whereby we only have the choice between Bashar Assad and al-Qaeda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-hollande/our-only-goal-is-to-strengthen-the-opposition-and-to-avoid-the/) [Francois Hollande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-hollande/) > [Developed and benefited from the unsustainable patterns of production and consumption which have produced our present dilemma. It is clear that current lifestyles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-strong/developed-and-benefited-from-the-unsustainable-patterns-of-production/) [Maurice Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-strong/) [Browse all 417 Dilemma quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dilemma/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The dilemma is this. In the modern world knowledge has been growing so fast and so enormously, in almost every field, that the probabilities are immensely against anybody, no matter how innately clever, being able to make a contribution in any one field unless he devotes all his time to it for years. If he tries to be the Rounded Universal Man, like Leonardo da Vinci, or to take all knowledge for his province, like Francis Bacon, he is most likely to become a mere dilettante and dabbler. 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