TLDR: Short article on the current ongoing shift to generalists, the impact of LLMs and the need to be a generalist with some specialist knowledge if I’m ever going to realise this vision.
I recently watched the new Netflix series “The Gentlemen“. I really enjoyed the series and recommend a watch. One quote caught my attention. In one of the first few episodes they use a spin on an old saying. “Jack of all trades, master of some“. The old saying is “Jack of all trades, master of none” other versions include simply the “Jack of all trades” and the extended “Jack of all trades, master of none but better than a master of one“.
As with all sayings, none of these encapsulate a full analysis of what is actually better but are usually used in the appropriate context as a way of conveying support or dismissal of an individual with a specific set of capabilities (either a generalist or specialist).
With a background in Human Computer Interaction, my time at university was split between Computer Science, Neuroscience, Psychology and Sociology. This didn’t set me up to be a specialist in any of the subjects but gave me a good grounding in them. In truth, I’ve never been suited to being a specialist. I tend to jump from obsession to obsession, learning in depth about one before abandoning it for another (and forgetting most of what I learned about the last one).
My background therefore biases me towards the more generalist saying “jack of all trades”. However, since meeting individuals that have specialised in a single topic/subject, I have come to appreciate specialists and their mastery of a single area. This is especially true since I started this project.
Jack of all trades
The reference in The Gentlemen is specifically referring to William Kent an architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer from the 18th century. Just the job roles he has accredited to him is impressive. Whats more interesting is others views of him. Paraphrasing Horace Walpole he was a mediocre painter, restorer of science in architecture and a visionary in gardening. This seems to be what inspires the quote. He was able to work on many things and master a couple of them, architecture and gardening.
Clearly when people use the phrase “jack of all trades” they do not mean that the person is familiar and could do any trade with no prior knowledge. They mean to reference someone who has broad knowledge of many subjects and is able to learn a new subject very quickly, making them able to do most tasks to a reasonable standard. At least, this is my interpretation.
Milly Tamati summarises my thoughts on “jack of all trades” well in her article on the subject, “what makes a generalist a generalist, is knowing how to learn. By connecting the dots between seemingly unrelated fields, we can drive innovation and keep the wheels of progress turning”.
Clearly, to build Qin I will need to be a jack of all trades in the computing/microcontroller field. To list some of the things I’ll need to learn:
- LLMs
- LLM Tooling
- Microcontrolers
- Designing PCBs
- 3D Modelling
- 3D printing
- Wring
- Architectural design
- Building reliable, scalable APIs
- IOT
- Ect…
In addition to this, if I ever want to build something that is next generational I would like to investigate biological measurements, brain monitoring and genetic editing/analysis. These are huge aspirations but to be a little cringy, shoot for the mood you may end up in the stars.
Master of some
I’m already quite far into the Computer Science and Micro Controller fields and honestly I don’t know anything yet. It constantly astounds me at how little I know. I’m a prime example of the Dunning-Kruger effect after getting a degree in computer science and learning about micro controllers I thought I had a good grasp of both, in retrospect I had a base level knowledge. The same was true of both neuroscience and psychology.
Even now I don’t feel like I have “mastered” any of these subjects but I would like to start working towards mastery of something. To master anything you have to begin by narrowing down a subject to a specific part. No one is an “expert” in all of psychology (I would be sceptical of anyone who claimed to be). People can be masters of a subfield, say developmental psychology or analytic psychology.
The most important parts of this entire project are building the body that can sense inputs and the brain which can process the information. To do this I need to become an expert in sensory microcontrollers and memory based LLMs. I don’t know how I’m going to do this. I’m slowly exploring microcontrollers, starting with working on arduino’s and pre-made sensory components. I’ll work up from these basic components to maybe printing more complex ones and designing my own PCBs. For the LLM part, I’m working on courses and will work up to building my own LLM and making it persistent.
I don’t know if I’ll ever become a master of anything but I definitely want to be more than a “Jack of all trades and master of none”.