Robert Heinlein wrote in his 1973 novel ‘Time Enough for Love’: “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

I’ve always liked the quote, even though Heinlein is only half right. It challenges you to decide what you should master.

Breadth matters. It lets you see patterns across domains. It shows you where the leverage points are. It reveals which problems are worth solving deeply.

But depth matters too. Depth without breadth is expertise in the wrong thing. Breadth without depth is surface-level understanding of everything.

You don’t choose between them. You sequence them.

Build the base wide. Then pick your peaks.