Range: Why Generalists Triump In A Specialized World

Question 1

Ospedale della Pietà

Answer 1

A convent, orphanage, and music school in Venice. At around nine years old, girls underwent a musical examination. The most musically talented tenth – known as the “figlie di choro” – were given an incredible opportunity: to receive a rigorous musical education alongside their female peers.

Question 2

Johannes Kepler

Answer 2

17th Century Astronomer tasked with figuring out why Mars orbit was out of whack. In the process he redefined physics and frequently used analogies to describe things scientists didn’t understand at the time.

Question 3

Analogical Thinking

Answer 3

Using information from one domain to help solve a problem in another domain

Question 4

Inside View

Answer 4

Bias where the case at hand or current specific circumstances outweigh larger forces at play in a forecast

Question 5

Ambiguous Sorting Task

Answer 5

Task created by Deere Gentner to help identify ability to wield distant analogies to understand problems.

Question 6

Match Quality

Answer 6

Economic theory that individuals work toward a career that best fits their idiosyncratic skill set

Question 7

Nicolas Appert (A-Pear)

Answer 7

A confectioner in 18th century France who became “The father of canning” after winning Napoleon’s contest to preserve food and feed his army.

Question 8

InnoCentive

Answer 8

An open innovation and crowdsourcing platform that has helped Companies like NASA help solve complex problems with outside thinking.

Question 9

Lateral Thinking

Answer 9

Manner of solving problems using a indirect and creative approach using reasoning that is not on the surface obvious.

Question 10

Functional Fixedness

Answer 10

A cognitive bias that limits a person to use an object only in the way it is traditionally used.

Ex: Candle dripping wax on the table.

Question 11

Kind Learning Environment

Answer 11

Huge amounts of data available, constrained situations, repeating patterns and immediate feedback available.

Examples: Chess and Golf

Question 12

Wicked Learning Environment

Answer 12

Situation where information is hidden, feedback is delayed, feedback may be infrequent, and it also may not be totally accurate.

Question 13

Philip E. Tetlock

Answer 13

Founder of The Good Judgement Project - where he sought out to see if you can nurture or what actually makes an accurate forecaster.

Question 14

The Good Judgement Project

Answer 14

An organization that harnesses the wisdom of the crowd to forecast world events and assess good forecasting.

Question 15

Hedgehogs vs. Foxes

Answer 15

Different models of thinking when it comes to forecasting and point of view. Also known as getting lost in the forest of the trees.

Question 16

Active Open-Mindedness

Answer 16

The disposition to be fair towards different conclusions even if they go against your own initial conclusion.

Question 17

Over learning

Answer 17

Practicing newly acquired skills beyond the point of initial mastery. Leads to automaticity and other beneficial consequences.

Question 18

Monday Notes

Answer 18

Process by NASA director Von Brohm where every department was required to send in their current problems they were facing on Mondays for Von Brohm’s opinions and to be publicized across the organization.

Question 19

Raven’s Progressive Matrices

Answer 19

Nonverbal group test that measures abstract reasoning and estimate of fluid intelligence.

Question 20

Atypical Knowledge Combinations

Answer 20

Process of introducing novel and unexpected links between different domains.

Question 21

Laszlo Polgar

Answer 21

Hungarian father who taught his daughters chess from an early age as an experiment.

Question 22

The fallacy of the head start

Answer 22

The idea that you have to begin early to get ahead in any domain.

Question 23

Rachel Weisend

Answer 23

1993 artist who won the Turner prize for best and worst artist in the same year.