This week’s reading (and by reading, I mean audiobook. Because nonfiction makes me a sleepy girl but I want my brain to have the knowledge.) is Range by David Epstein.

I want to tell you a story about a Jack-of-All-Trades, master of astrophysics from the book, and then propose that you should be an oxymoron: A Professional Hobbyist.

First, the story:

The 14th Century Space Cowboy

Kepler, the Father of Astrophysics, existed in a time where “alchemy was still a common approach to natural phenomena.” While about a century earlier, Copernicus came up with a sun-centric model for the solar system, it was widely dismissed due to the prevailing philosophical, religious, scientific, and observational views of the day that humanity – and therefore Earth – was the center of the universe.

And also that we were all floating on unmoving glass balls.

Disputing this and teaching Copernicus’s heliocentric model could get you burned at the stake as a heretic. Anyways….

Kepler realized planets further away from the Sun moved more slowly, as if a force was dispersing from the Sun and acting upon each planet, acting more weakly the further away you moved.

This idea was completely outside of the realm of previous thought so he needed a way to understand this new force:

He created an analogy.

He compared the planets to boats on a current, being sucked into a whirlpool (The Sun).

But the planets didn’t ever get sucked into the “whirlpool”, so that must mean that the boats had “boatmen”; The planets must have their own force pulling them in an elliptical pattern around the sun, keeping them from colliding, but also moving them in a non-circular pattern.

The resulting boat-like movement sounds kind of like, uh, gravity?

Kepler used several more analogies including magnets, scales, and lenses to understand and eventually coin The Laws of Planetary Motion, Universal Gravity, the pulls of larger celestial bodies on each other (i.e. the moon’s effect on Earth’s water), and some other really smart stuff.

We thought that the Earth and planets were unmoving glass balls, and now we had this idea of an invisible force yanking us around the Sun in an egg-like elliptical shape.

He literally invented astrophysics in a time where there was no concept of gravity.

Jack-of-All-Trades, Master of Astrophysics

Analogy – using knowledge completely outside of his working domain – is what allowed him to understand the workings of our solar system.

In a world where we encounter problems that are completely outside of any lived experience, having experience outside of the problem’s domain is…

Frequently what is used to solve that problem,
What could make you better in the given field,
And might even lead to the creation of something entirely new.

I’m not sure about you, but this goes against what I was told by many college professors, advisors, and peers. They said to go deep, instead of wide.

Humans who had a wide range of experience compared to their specialized counterparts, and were able to pull from that experience, is how:

We were able to separate DNA strands using ideas from starching shirts.
Nintendo became a titan in the gaming industry using calculator tech.
A previous art dealer, missionary, preacher, and bookseller became one of the most renowned painters of the 19th century.

Some Call You the Gangster of Hobbies

So I guess what I’m trying to say is, have the hobby.

Heck, have ALL the hobbies.

Right now, Ryan and I are in the middle of a camper van renovation. We wouldn't have even attempted to tackle this challenge if it weren’t for the range of things we’ve attempted before: flooring our house, sewing curtains, working on electrical and mechanical problems.

This isn’t to say that we magically knew how to flip a van. We’re moving very slowly, and we’re deep in the middle of the project.

But hey, there’s flooring, insulation, and Ryan is working on the plumbing while I’m working on sewing up some cushions. Even though a year ago I would have told you I’m terrible at sewing.

Don’t look at the hem of my dining room curtains too closely.

I often think that I was hired as a completely unqualified intern on a technical team at Apple simply because they liked that I had a background in a completely unrelated field – photography.

Play Your Music in the Sun

“But I might be bad at something new!”

So?

Try it once.

Quit it immediately after.

Life doesn’t have a bunch of tests at the end, so if you don’t like your “area of study”, you can switch your major as many times as you want.

In the past year alone, I’ve tried candle pouring, mountain biking, and learned to use 35mm film. I gifted the handmade candles for Christmas; learned that I like how mountain biking makes me feel, and it’s not that scary when it’s really, really slow; and I added 35mm film as an offering to my wedding couples.

I also tried running and then stopped when I realized I don’t really like running. Not everything sticks.

However, if you are someone, like me, who picks up and drops hobbies really quickly, maybe give yourself a few guidelines:

Guidelines for the Hobby Enthusiast:

Follow the whim.

Did you just save something on Pinterest and think “I could probably make that myself.” Try!
Is there a rabbit hole of the history of astrophysicists that you want to learn about? Follow it!

Don’t get all of the pro-grade materials for the new hobby.

Are there things lying around your house that you could use instead?
Can you borrow something from a friend?

Financial barriers could be in your head.

Is there a place that rents time or space for this hobby?

A gym, a library, a class?

Is there an entry-level version of this that costs, like, $20?
Can I sell 1 thing in order to fund the hobby?

You don’t have to start a business, but selling a thing can be a way to upgrade your materials.

Leave room for boredom.

Set limits for the apps on your phone and instead of doom-scrolling, daydream.

The tagline of the book, Range: “Why generalists thrive in a specialized world” made me, a self-proclaimed Jack-of-All-Trades, say to myself in an old-scholarly-English-man’s-voice: “Hmm a book that proves my discipline-meandering actually means that I’m learning… better? Count me in.”

Though I’m not a history-making musician, or an Iron Man champ, it did feel like David Epstein was in my brain, making sense of half-formed thoughts and connecting seemingly random jumps across my educational, hobbyist, and professional journey. I liked that Epstein shows us real people who have risen above because they chose – or were accidentally – a Jack-of-All-Trades.

If you want to read (or listen) along with me, I found it on Libby, but you could also use the good ol’ Amazon or Thriftbooks

More importantly, I want to hear if you identify more as a specialist or a generalist, and if you think you could benefit from leaning into the other side.

Until next time,

STSc