A Eulogy

My friends, today we gather, in a mental fashion, to mourn the passing of the renaissance man.  Surely, he will be considered as some of the most renown and accomplished of the human archetypes.

What was the renaissance man to whom I dedicate this massive series of binary code?  They were amazing in their own way.  The renaissance man knew several languages.  He was not restricted by the bounds of academic disciplines nor the attitudes that seemed to police their borders.  He knew literature better than his colleagues but also was adept in science.  Clearly his prowess expanded beyond to music and poetry often written while dabbling in political theory, logic, and elocution.  Such notable and impressive men include Abu Bakr, Leone Battista Alberti, and Leonardo da Vinci.  In our hemisphere and of direct relevance to our lives today we find Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.  This minuscule list is a mere spattering of the huge amounts of men who devoted their lives untiringly to understanding their world and inspiring us to greater heights as they improved our lives today.  They were masters of everything with a knowledge almost impossible to replicate.

Undoubtedly the way of the renaissance man has died.  The world today is focused on specialization often leaving us bereft of such great men that once graced us in history with their charm, insight, and brilliance.  Indeed, specialization has produced a breed of specialists that have obtained levels that seem to border at times savant autism.  They are capable of great feats in their chosen fields but clearly run a deficit outside their realm.  My reference to autism bears actual relevance to the social devolution and perpetual awkwardness in which many of these specialists live.

Now, I would not attack the specialist.  The reason, perhaps, for the death of the renaissance man is the fact that there is so much more knowledge available than ever before.  Its impossible to be a master of all fields regardless of the amount of time spent learning.  These specialist are responsible for the many incredible aspects of daily life that we take for granted of which our ancestors would have lived in perpetual awe.  Technology, science, and medicine alone have performed incredible feats and more are still to come. 

No, let us not downplay the specialist, but we should mourn the passing of men who were certainly of a caliber that is rarely reached in our day.  I do, however, sound a warning to those who would choose to become a specialist: broaden your horizons or else you will be blinded by narrow mindedness.  Specialize, but recognize the role of other fields in your specialty.  Much like marriage, no field is anything without another to accompany it.  In short, to be useful we must specialize but temper it with knowledge of varied fields and areas.  Perhaps the renaissance man is dead but his progeny from his marriage to specialization can live on in us with characteristics of both parents.