Hey Bad Asses!
We’re approaching the business end of our May read: Range by David Epstein.
If you’ve got your hands on a physical copy of the book, you’ll notice the the very first page is a veritable list of amazing authors in the personal development space absolutely piling on praise for Range.
If you don’t, here’s a few quotes we’d like to share:
‘A captivating read that will leave you questioning the next steps in your career - and the way you raise your children’ - Adam Grant (one of our previous authors - Think Again)
‘I want to give range to everyone who wants humans to thrive in an age of robots. Range is full of surprises and hope, a twenty-first century survival guide’ - Amanda Ripley (Author of Smartest Kids in the World)
‘A goldmine of surprising insights. Makes you smarter with every page’ - James Clear (Atomic Habits guy)
‘An urgent and important book, an essential read for bosses, parents, coaches and anyone who cares about improving performance’ - Daniel Pink (Total legend - author of Drive and The Power of Regret)
So, it looks like they enjoyed it! (or at least got paid to say so), but what do you think so far?
Let us know via the poll below!!
What are your first impressions of Range?
Also, quick reminder about our Bad Ass Bookshelf book club call on the 29th of May at 17:00 GMT (12:00 EST / 09:00 PST).
Let us know you’re coming so we know how much pizza to cater (jokes - it’s BYO)
﹅ Community insights
Reflections and thoughts from members in our Discord Community
“In chapter 1 of Range there is a section where he talks about AI outpacing humans in narrow fields such as chess and certain computer games, but argues that AI still has a long way to go to beat us in less well defined problems where context and nuance are important.
This made me think about my own line of work which is in data. I think large chunks of data jobs will be eventually replaced by AI, but the parts that are really important - like decision making where context and nuance are uncertain, strategy formulation and generally the really important areas of data work are still largely undefinable and therefore less likely to be outsourced to AI.”
● Additional resources
Range explores the value of generalists in a world that prizes specialisation. If you enjoyed this theme and want to learn more, here are three other great books for you to check out.
The Polymath – Waqas Ahmed
A compelling argument for reviving the Renaissance ideal of the polymath in today’s hyper-specialised world, drawing from history, psychology, and philosophy.
Why you’ll love it: If Range opens your mind to the power of generalists, The Polymath will inspire you to actively cultivate a broader, richer life by embracing curiosity across disciplines.
Ultralearning – Scott Young
A practical guide to aggressive, self-directed learning projects, filled with real-life examples like learning four languages in a year or mastering MIT’s computer science curriculum without enrolling.
Why you’ll love it: While Range explores the benefits of diverse experience, Ultralearning gives you the tools to intentionally build that range, fast and effectively.
Originals – Adam Grant
An exploration of how non-conformists drive creativity and change, with insights into idea generation, risk-taking, and how to champion novel thinking in any field.
Why you’ll love it: If Range gave you permission to think differently, Originals will show you how to turn that thinking into real-world innovation, whether you’re an entrepreneur, leader, or creative.
► Our burning questions
Last week we asked you…
Do you carve out time to explore topics beyond your main area of expertise? If so, what have you discovered from doing that?
Here’s what you guys said:
“I never purposely carved it time, it was more on the job figure it out because nobody else knows how and I was the only one.
Working in that type of environment gave me many different skills from project management, mechanical troubleshooting and know how for fixing all my equipment, data analysis and reporting, customer interfacing, organization and optimization of the lab and my time, all sorts of process improvement and root cause analysis and probably more I can't think of right now.
The hardest part for me, especially during my job search, is explaining that I have all these skills because I feel like many job descriptions want specialists or one person to do 5 jobs which is where I do not want to bae again. When my contact gets closer to ending, I'll have to rethink how to show myself to employers to highlight what they are most interested in and what kind of work I want to do.”
“I think naturally by being active on LinkedIn I encounter new ideas and views that are a little different to my own or that challenge my experiences. They often send me down little rabbit holes of exploration too.
I think the same can be said for reading and being in a book club like this. We’re proactively exposing ourselves to new ideas and thinking.”
“I read quite a lot of diverse books when it comes to Non Fiction. Everything from climate change/science, politics, history, tech, social change etc.
Love being able to delve into books that open up new topics to me, just started Borderlines by Lewis Bastón.
It’s helpful to know a bit about the world, where it’s come from, where it might be going. I’m just curious I guess.”
This week we’re asking…
Have you ever taken a detour—personally or professionally—that seemed unrelated at the time but ended up giving you a unique edge later on?
Let us know by dropping a reply to this email - or better yet - heading over to share these thoughts with the rest of the Bad Assess on Discord!
♦︎ Next book club call
We're so excited to host our next Bad Ass Bookshelf bookclub call to discuss Range at the end of May]! Call details below:
Date: 29th May
Time: 17:00 GMT (12:00 EST / 09:00 PST)
Register for the call here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/YK_qnF7RSTOV7P5i0FvHcw
Cannot wait to see you all there!
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