--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every man gets a narrower and narrower…" description: "\"Every man gets a narrower and narrower field of knowledge in which he must be an expert in order to compete with other people. The specialist knows mor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f68/konrad-lorenz-8538_every-man_every-man-gets-a-narrower-and-narrower-f_2818820.jpg" --- # Every man gets a narrower and narrower field of knowledge… ![“Every man gets a narrower and narrower field of knowledge in which he must be an expert in order to compete with other people. The specialist knows more and more about less and less and finally knows everything about nothing.” quote by Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f68/konrad-lorenz-8538_every-man_every-man-gets-a-narrower-and-narrower-f_2818820.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f68/konrad-lorenz-8538_every-man_every-man-gets-a-narrower-and-narrower-f_2818820.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f68/konrad-lorenz-8538_every-man_every-man-gets-a-narrower-and-narrower-f_2818820.jpg) > “Every man gets a narrower and narrower field of knowledge in which he must be an expert in order to compete with other people. The specialist knows more and more about less and less and finally knows everything about nothing.” [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Specialists focus on ever‑narrowing domains, gaining depth but losing breadth, leading to expertise that may feel empty. **In simple terms:** Specialists know a lot about little. Key Takeaway Balance depth with broader learning. Themes expertise knowledge competition specialization Mood thoughtful concerned Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - professional advancement - personal growth - career planning Key Concepts cognitive trade‑offs information overload career development Questions to Reflect On - How can you maintain breadth while deepening expertise? - What risks arise from over‑specialization? A Different Perspective Depth can limit adaptability and interdisciplinary insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“I suggest that you focus on becoming a “5 percenter,” someone who starts with little knowledge and then becomes enough of an expert that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-scott/i-suggest-that-you-focus-on-becoming-a-5-percenter-someone-who-starts/) [S.J. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-scott/) > [In the field of knowledge is all possibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/in-the-field-of-knowledge-is-all-possibility/) [Maharishi Mahesh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/) > [“You must go to the school or to the books or on the field because knowledge doesn't come to you, you must go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-must-go-to-the-school-or-to-the-books-or-on-the-field-because/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Expertise in one field does not carry over into other fields. But experts often think so. The narrower their field of knowledge the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/expertise-in-one-field-does-not-carry-over-into-other-fields-but/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Every field of knowledge is different, but they are all connected. And they often rhyme. This means that something in the way you describe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-anderson/every-field-of-knowledge-is-different-but-they-are-all-connected-and/) [Chris Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-anderson/) > [People have got to stop trying to compete with other people's lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-have-got-to-stop-trying-to-compete-with-other-people-s-lives/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just started training with the best fighters in the world trying to get better. I was a pretty good athlete so I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-lawler/i-just-started-training-with-the-best-fighters-in-the-world-trying-to/) [Robbie Lawler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-lawler/) > [I knew I could compete with most people in high school. It didn't quite give me an attitude, but it made me think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-eaton/i-knew-i-could-compete-with-most-people-in-high-school-it-didn-t/) [Ashton Eaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-eaton/) > [Although in skating you compete with other people, anyone who achieves a certain level of success is first and foremost competing against themselves. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-wang/although-in-skating-you-compete-with-other-people-anyone-who-achieves-2/) [Vera Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-wang/) > [When I came to New York, I began to meet the people who became the most famous artists of our time. I was insecure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-flynt/when-i-came-to-new-york-i-began-to-meet-the-people-who-became-the/) [Henry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-flynt/) > [I don't compete with other people in the industry, I compete with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-don-t-compete-with-other-people-in-the-industry-i-compete-with/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [There's so many wonderful gospel people out there, and I don't necessarily want to compete with those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smokey-robinson/there-s-so-many-wonderful-gospel-people-out-there-and-i-don-t/) [Smokey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smokey-robinson/) > [Although in skating you compete with other people, anyone who achieves a certain level of success is first and foremost competing against themselves. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-wang/although-in-skating-you-compete-with-other-people-anyone-who-achieves/) [Vera Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-wang/) > [I know that this sounds grand, but I don't try to compete with other people. I like to think there's enough pie for everyone.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-merchant/i-know-that-this-sounds-grand-but-i-don-t-try-to-compete-with-other/) [Stephen Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-merchant/) > [“Successful people compete against themselves, not against other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-adam-snyder/successful-people-compete-against-themselves-not-against-other-people/) [J.Adam Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-adam-snyder/) ## More by Konrad Lorenz > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [I owe undying gratitude to my patient parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-owe-undying-gratitude-to-my-patient-parents/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [It is a good morning exercise for a research scientist to discard a pet hypothesis every day before breakfast. It keeps him young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/it-is-a-good-morning-exercise-for-a-research-scientist-to-discard-a/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > ['I don't need brains,' says the billionaire contemptuously. 'I'm brainy enough myself!' The broker cries out in desperation, 'What, in heaven's name, do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-don-t-need-brains-says-the-billionaire-contemptuously-i-m-brainy/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [I have found the missing link between the higher ape and civilized man; it is we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-have-found-the-missing-link-between-the-higher-ape-and-civilized/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [The fidelity of a dog is a precious gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/the-fidelity-of-a-dog-is-a-precious-gift/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Whenever we find, in two forms of life that are unrelated to each other, a similarity of form or of behaviour patterns which relates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/whenever-we-find-in-two-forms-of-life-that-are-unrelated-to-each/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [...he who has seen the intimate beauty of nature cannot tear himself away from it again. He must become either a poet or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/he-who-has-seen-the-intimate-beauty-of-nature-cannot-tear-himself/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [We had better dispense with the personification of evil, because it leads, all too easily, to the most dangerous kind of war: religious war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/we-had-better-dispense-with-the-personification-of-evil-because-it/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If you confine yourself to this Skinnerian technique, you study nothing but the learning apparatus and you leave out everything that is different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/if-you-confine-yourself-to-this-skinnerian-technique-you-study/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [All scientific knowledge to which man owes his role as master of the world arose from playful activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/all-scientific-knowledge-to-which-man-owes-his-role-as-master-of-the/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [All the advantages that man has gained from his ever-deepening understanding of the natural world that surrounds him, his technological, chemical and medical progress,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/all-the-advantages-that-man-has-gained-from-his-ever-deepening/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Truth in science can be defined as the working hypothesis best suited to open the way to the next better one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/truth-in-science-can-be-defined-as-the-working-hypothesis-best-suited/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“Every scientist should, after all, regard it as his duty to tell the public, in a generally intelligible way, about what he is doing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/every-scientist-should-after-all-regard-it-as-his-duty-to-tell-the/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [I consider early childhood events as most essential to a man's scientific and philosophical development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-consider-early-childhood-events-as-most-essential-to-a-man-s/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) [Explore all 78 Konrad Lorenz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) ## More Every man quotes > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Every man has his secret sadness and sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-has-his-secret-sadness-and-sorrows-which-the-world-knows/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [All religions must be tolerated for every man must get to heaven in his own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-religions-must-be-tolerated-for-every-man-must-get-to-heaven-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity, the less they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-every-man-according-to-his-desert-and-who-should-scape-whipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“China reminds me most of America at its own moment of transformation—the period that Mark Twain and Charles Warner named the Gilded Age, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-osnos/china-reminds-me-most-of-america-at-its-own-moment-of-transformation/) [Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/) > [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [“John, let me make one thing clear,” Jim said, cutting me off in his most stern, evangelical voice. “Every man is blessed with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/john-let-me-make-one-thing-clear-jim-said-cutting-me-off-in-his-most/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [Every man's heart one day beats its final beat. His lungs breathe a final breath. And if what that man did in his life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-ultimate-warrior/every-man-s-heart-one-day-beats-its-final-beat-his-lungs-breathe-a/) [The Ultimate Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-ultimate-warrior/) Browse all 3,342 Every man quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every man gets a narrower and narrower field of knowledge in which he must be an expert in order to compete with other people. The specialist knows more and more about less and less and finally knows everything about nothing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Konrad Lorenz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/every-man-gets-a-narrower-and-narrower-field-of-knowledge-in-which-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Every man" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/every-man-gets-a-narrower-and-narrower-field-of-knowledge-in-which-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f68/konrad-lorenz-8538_every-man_every-man-gets-a-narrower-and-narrower-f_2818820.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f68/konrad-lorenz-8538_every-man_every-man-gets-a-narrower-and-narrower-f_2818820.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f68/konrad-lorenz-8538_every-man_every-man-gets-a-narrower-and-narrower-f_2818820.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every man gets a narrower and narrower field of knowledge in which he must be an expert in order to compete…” — Konrad Lorenz", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Konrad Lorenz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every man gets a narrower and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/every-man-gets-a-narrower-and-narrower-field-of-knowledge-in-which-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/every-man-gets-a-narrower-and-narrower-field-of-knowledge-in-which-he/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```