David Epstein
Journalist and author of The Sports Gene (2013) and Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World (2019); writes the Range Widely newsletter; formerly a senior writer at Sports Illustrated.
David Epstein did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
What they believe
-
In pursuit of a head start, people often skip exploring and jump straight to narrowly exploiting what they already know.
“Exploit” means digging into what you already know and maximizing the benefit from it. Getting the balance right is crucial. The trouble is, in pursuit of a head start, we often skip “explore” and jump right to the more narrow “exploit.”
davidepstein.substack.comSaid 3 Sept 2024This on korrents
-
Broad interests and diverse experience are hallmarks of the typical path to fulfilment and achievement, from athletes and artists to inventors and scientists.
Researching athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters, scientists, and more, I found that broad interests and diverse experience were hallmarks of the typical path to fulfillment and achievement.
davidepstein.substack.comSaid 7 Sept 2021This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 4 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
In pursuit of a head start, people often skip exploring and jump straight to narrowly exploiting what they already know.
“Exploit” means digging into what you already know and maximizing the benefit from it. Getting the balance right is crucial. The trouble is, in pursuit of a head start, we often skip “explore” and jump right to the more narrow “exploit.”
Excerpt from the New Range Foreword Said 3 Sept 2024
Career zig-zaggers are more likely to feel unappreciated while building a broad skill set, and also more likely, eventually, to reach the top of their work.
In other words: career zig-zaggers are more likely to feel unappreciated while on the path to developing a broad skill set, but also more likely (eventually) to ascend to the highest echelon in their work.
Excerpt from the New Range Foreword Said 3 Sept 2024
Broad interests and diverse experience are hallmarks of the typical path to fulfilment and achievement, from athletes and artists to inventors and scientists.
Researching athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters, scientists, and more, I found that broad interests and diverse experience were hallmarks of the typical path to fulfillment and achievement.
Welcome to RANGE WIDELY Said 7 Sept 2021
Show 1 more
Nobel laureates are far more likely than other scientists to have a hobby unrelated to their work and tend to do more multidisciplinary work, as elite athletes sample widely before they specialise.
Compared to other scientists, for instance, Nobel laureates are at least twenty-two times more likely to have a hobby (usually artistic) unrelated to their work. They also tend to do more multidisciplinary work and progress more slowly early in their careers — a pattern mirrored by elite athletes, who usually go through a “sampling period” of diverse experience, and delay narrow specialization.
Welcome to RANGE WIDELY Said 7 Sept 2021
What is a korrent?
A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.
Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.
Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.
Where they publish
Newsletter Range Widely Their newsletter for generalists.
Essays on range, learning, sport and thinking outside your field, from the author of Range. Has a feed.
Open davidepstein.substack.com
Link verified 9 Oct 2026.
About the English under a post
Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.
The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.
Only the post's own words are translated. A quoted post, a linked article and a belief on korrents.com are left in their original language.