---
title: "My final word in the \"general vs. specialized education\" debate"
author: "Stan Voo"
url: https://www.99rabbits.com/blog/general-vs-specialized-education
published: 2009-12-27
summary: "Most innovation is something taken from one field and applied in another. That's why broad knowledge wins."
---

# My final word in the "general vs. specialized education" debate

I've settled the "general vs. specialized education" debate for myself. Like this: "broad" knowledge from various fields gives you good support for success in your own industry. You get the chance to "peek", as it were, at other fields and apply what you see in your own work; you get tools for creativity. Most innovations happen exactly this way: we take something from biology and apply it in engineering, we take [mathematical models and apply them in design](http://od-inspire.livejournal.com/193965.html "Master class: Trends in visual branding 2009–2010, the trends that can help you and the trends that can kill you"), and so on.