Increasing our 'Range.' Living here offers a wide variety of experiences, bolsters skills
I'm in the midst of reading "Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World." It's written by David Epstein, who also wrote "The Sports Gene." Both books explore the concept of how people can maximize their human potential.
It's kind of weird that I'm attracted to this kind of self-improvement genre because I've spent my life trying to figure out the best ways to avoid reaching my potential. It just sounds like it's a lot work. But, know your enemy, I guess.
"Range" is interesting because it debunks the long-held notion that in order to achieve excellence in any pursuit, one must specialize in that activity and use laser-like focus to perfect it. Epstein argues that there is likely greater value in pursuing many different kinds of things, for example music and math.
The way I understand it (and I'm only partly into the book), a multi-pronged pursuit not only provides greater balance, but also wider perspectives that can lead to ground-breaking discoveries.
Wisconsin just might be an ideal place to explore range. I know of no other line of work that requires competency in so many things as farming, and farming has such a deep footprint on the Wisconsin culture. Our weather absolutely requires a great deal of versatility — not onlyin our wardrobes but also in our skills.
And our diversity in people, landscape and forms of recreation allows just about anybody to explore all sorts of different interests. Hunting and fishing, of course. Want to rock climb? We got it. Interested in being a rapper? We're here for you. Want to sail? Yep.
Melissa Siegler's story about Wisconsinites who hold World Records does nothing but bolster my theory. We've got people who pursue their potential in everything from stilt walking and water skiing to burger eating and gravy drinking.
Chelsey Lewis shines the spotlight on the wide, wide range of roadside attractions found in our state:
► The World's Largest Talking Cow, a giant ball of twine and more roadside attractions in Wisconsin
And yowza, check out the range of foods that will be offered at the State Fair in West Allis, which runs Aug. 4-14. I gained 5 pounds just reading them:
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A couple of stories about a few makers
► Restoring his family’s 100-year-old Aermotor Windmill was nearly a decade-long ‘labor of love'
► Couple builds Sturgeon Bay's largest homebuilt sailboat for humanitarian missions
The Milwaukee Public Museum unveils its new look
A vampire mimics a Wisconsin accent and we're here for that, too
► FX vampire comedy 'What We Do in the Shadows' sinks its teeth into a Wisconsin accent for laughs
Didja know? A Wisconsin fact drop
Didja know that Gary Gygax developed the game Dungeons & Dragons in his Lake Geneva basement? You probably did, but it came as news to me when I learned about it a few weeks ago. Even though I was plenty nerdy as a high schooler and college student, somehow I got through those years without even knowing what Dungeons & Dragons was. It wasn't until I met my wife, and she told me about her marathon D&D sessions when she was a student at Colorado State University.
There's a new book out about the game, Gygax and TSR, the publishing company that put role-playing games on the map. It was written by Milwaukee native Ben Riggs, and Jim Higgins writes about it here:
Contact Keith Uhlig at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on Twitter and Instagram or on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin and "Range" by David Epstein
