Jack of All Trades vs Renaissance Man

I've been pondering the phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none". A bit of research brought me to learn that across most of the world's cultures (with precious few exceptions), this label is used is a fairly derogatory one. For the most part, cultural values - including anglo-cetric ones - assert that being a jack-of-all-trades is a bad choice. Some common themes are that have many trades will leave you poor/alone, that you'll have a shallow understanding or weak grasp on all of them, or that you end up knowing nothing:

Un océano de conocimiento de una pulgada de profundidad ("An ocean of knowledge of an inch deep")
كتير الكارات، قليل البارات ("Who does several trades, is incapable of managing any")
周身刀，无张利 (Traditional): 周身刀，無張利 ("Equipped with knives all over, yet none is sharp")
Qui trop embrasse, mal étreint ("he who embraces too much, has a weak grasp")
Er kann alles, aber nichts davon richtig ("He can do everything, but nothing properly").
Πολυτεχνίτης και ερημοσπίτης ("A man of many crafts and a deserted home")
多芸は無芸 ("Many talents is no talent")
همه کاره و هیچ‌کاره ("All trades and no authority")
பல தொழில் கற்றவன் ஒரு தொழிலும் செய்யான் ("A man who has learnt many businesses will do none")

And that's just a sampling.

But at the same time (at least, starting in the Western Renaissance), the "Renaissance Man" or polymath is a figure that is lauded for his ability to draw from many different fields/skills. His imagination and curiosity make him specially equipped to handle complex problems and philosophies.

Obviously, the decision to be a specialist or a generalist is a personal one, but what do you think? Do you believe there is more value inherent in being one or the other? Is this decision significant in your Jedi Path? Is it something you even think about (as opposed to it just happening)?

There are some who master nothing and take no time to prepare for much of anything, I think this is what subject means. A jack of all traits, is to me an American way of saying not much stability. I have had and claim to have lived many lifes in this one life itself. Jobs and careers, many jobs a few careers and im only 36..lol
Renaissance man some times implies a greater understanding of different subjects mastered for what is present.
That's my own opinion friend. I favor the Renaissance man stand lol

Great thread topic.

It reminds me of a quote from a philosophical hero of mine, Ron Swanson of Parks and Rec who said "Never half ass two things. Whole ass one thing." However, it should be noted that Ron was something of a Renaissance Man in that he has many, many talents including the ability to completely renovate the third floor of City Hall by himself faster than the team originally assigned to it. Fictional though he may be we can find wisdom in him.

To me there is a delicate balance. I believe that a person should have some knowledge in anything that may affect their lives but that there is always a time for a specialist to get involved. Drive a car? You should know how to change a tire and possibly change your oil. Do you need to know how to take the engine apart and put it back together? No, for that I'd rely on a mechanic. Use a toilet? You might want to have a general idea of how to use a plunger. Need to install a new bathroom in that formerly unfinished basement? I'd call a plumber (among other peoples). Do you eat food? You should probably know how to turn on your oven/stove/microwave/grill. Want super authentic tomales? I'd recommend a good Mexican restaurant. You get the idea.

I recommend having general knowledge like I described above and then picking one thing to be your specialty. If at all possible make that specialty your career as you are likely to be more successful at that than any of the others and you probably enjoy it more or you wouldn't have picked that one.

The difference isn't so much cultural (that is, that western culture views it differently from other cultures) as definitional. A jack of all trades is implicitly a "master of none" - hence the negative phrases in other languages.

A "Renaissance man," or polymath, on the other hand, is someone who is actually talented at many things. The archetypical, literal Renaissance man was Leonardo da Vinci, who excelled at much more than just painting. A more recent example is Thomas Jefferson - a skilled writer and political thinker, and also an inventor, architect and mathematician.

It would be nice if I was a polymath, but I'm not. I'm just a jack of all trades. Working on it, though.

"It's simple: Overspecialize, and you breed in weakness. It's slow death."
— Major Motoko Kusanagi, Ghost in the Shell

My managers are in love with me because I can do enough in every department to save it, then they re-position me to rescue another section somewhere else, which keeps me curious and engaged all night. I love it. Chris has a deep, deep understanding of the main aisles of the store, but is perfectly ignorant of any other area. He knows his role so well that he trains the new people that come in. When I come over to help in his area, he sometimes has to remind me of the standards, which I know bugs him. But if some other section was drowning there's nothing he could do.

We're both extremely important to the store being ready in the morning. Without both extremes, we wouldn't be able to do it.

I have always said that a Jedi between Initiate and Knight should develop a Jack of all trades mentality. It is important, at least to me, to learn and gain knowledge in all that you can. A warrior understood the basics of health and healing. A Healer understood the basics of social diplomacy. The Diplomate understood the use of survival tactics. One never knows when they will need to fix their own plumbing, do their own electrical, babysit a group of kids, or work in a fast food joint.

To gain a handful of basic skills allows you to be "serviceable"

Then. Once one reached a "Master" Status - They could turn their focus to the Talents they found themselves best at without losing the basics of everything else.

That. To me. Is what "There is no ignorance, There is Knowledge" stands for.

I...don't have much of a choice. Call me a Jill of all Trades or the Renaissance Woman, Kit, or "Heyyou", I can NOT pin myself down to a single trade.

I use to be bitter about the "Jack of all Trades, master of none" business. Yeah, no one will see my art in a museum, no one will see my crafts brought before kings. But I'll tell you this, my skills are as varied as colors on an artist's pallet, and work together just as well. I can't tell you how many times I've crossed a tool or technique from one craft or skillset to another.

Also something I've discovered is something in the learning of the different crafts or skills, changes the way I've tackled problems. I seem to apply the same skills I use to figure out a new craft/skill, to problem solving issues through the day.

Does everyone need to have a massive tool chest like I do? No. Most times a small set of general tools and a set of focused ones do folks well. I think the world needs master artisans just as much as it needs the tinkerers.

And I would like to invite whoever came up with this one: Πολυτεχνίτης και ερημοσπίτης ("A man of many crafts and a deserted home") over to my home and see both my crafting corner, my computer desk, and my craft room and talk to me again about deserted hahaha

A renaissance man is a person with many passions that they juggle with a modicum of success. A jack of all trades is someone who never really stepped above and beyond what seemed needed at the time.

Saying that though; life requires many talents, and many degrees of competency in many areas. We are all to an extent Jacks of All Trades, all the trades we have found a need to be competent in as we have journeyed through life. No one likes to admit inadequacy or incompetency, but better to concede inadequacy and grow; to admit there are many things we lack skills in, then to embrace incompetency and believe in a sense of universal competency. That is where the derogatory element emerges; it is to mean a person who feigns competency, and flutters between all things, while never truly being competent.

One cannot know what one does not know; they can only become aware of a lack of knowing. The knowledge one holds is the context of your ignorance.

This is an interesting topic and has come up at a time when I've been thinking how I am fair at many things but great at none of them (and stick to even fewer).

In my job I am both specialist and jack of all trades... I know enough about many things related to my job to help my clients in many topics, but the unusual client base that my firm deals with means that I have taken it upon myself to take up specialist tax knowledge for that industry.. now my colleagues come to me about it, and direct our clients to me too.

There's a use for being both. A jack of all trades is only a negative thing if you need to be a specialist, or you have some kind of fear of being inadequate (have to raise my hand to that one)...

I'm not certain, this is an uneducated thesis on my part, but I believe you might be conflating two different Historical streams.

The "jack" commentary comes out of the Trades-person, creates things with hands, crafting, carpentry, today would include plumbing and electrician and mechanics...

The Renaissance-person descriptor is out of the halls of learning, and typically refers to feats of knowledge.

The feature of many "greats" is they sought also to master some craft-skills such as Leonardo as someone else mentioned... Newton had Alchemy, Aristotle like to build machines etc...

I realize that it was typically a pejorative term, but I've never used it as such. I've used it more as a simple description of fact without any judgement. However, I am a jack of many trades, but master of none... I can wire and frame my basement, drywall, plaster it, and paint it, but doesn't mean it will wind up looking as good as a master-carpenter... I can change the oil and plugs on my bike, but it takes me much longer than a master-mechanic ...