Breadth Versus Depth

A discussion about how to spend your time

In the above coordinate planes, the X-axis represents the breadth or width of knowledge. The Y-axis represents the depth of knowledge. Imagine the filled-in area to be the product of time spent acquiring knowledge/wisdom/expertise in one or many fields of study. Imagine this filled-in area to be a structure one could stand atop.

Why build a structure that one could stand on? Standing on top of high buildings allows one to see far and wide. What does seeing far and wide symbolically represent? It represents knowledge, wisdom, and access to vision. Being positioned high up means that one has a perspective of what is ahead, or what is to come. This higher perspective directly correlates to successful people continuing to be successful (the rich get richer and the poor get poorer). Standing on top of a high building can also mean one is positioned higher up on some hierarchal ladder.

Figure 1 is an illustration of what kind of knowledge? The breadth of knowledge. The knowledge is spread across many different fields but lacks depth. The person who stands atop Figure 1’s structure is someone that lacks vision, as their structure is not high enough to see above the fog and foliage that clouds true clarity. The person standing on top of Figure 1 also won’t be able to see any true success as their…