With every successful problem science is able to explain, a ple-THO-rah of new unanswered questions opens up. This is, of course, one of the exciting things about science–or any profession working on the “leading edge” of our knowledge.

There are also approximately 6.5 billion people in this world. Almost all people will contribute to the general body of human knowledge during their lifetime, although only a small fraction will do so in a publishable/archival format. But the knowledge contained in oral traditions and community practices can certainly be of equal or greater value than published material. With increasing globalization, we are starting to see the interplay between various knowledge repositories–such as Western pharmacists finding a new medicine based on the herbalists of a distant indigenous people group. This cross-fertilization is significant not only across cultural boundaries, but also between academic disciplines and professional arenas. A certain technique that has been used by engineers for decades may shed light on a modern environmental research topic, or a certain terrestrial geological discovery may have strong implications for an extrasolar astronomer. Interdisciplinary communication, whether across a physical, cultural, or academic boundary, is increasingly important in solving the growing number of mysteries of the world (and not just science either; this is true of business or any other area of knowledge).

Sadly, there are no collaborative filtering algorithms (yet) to foster collaboration between unlikely fields. Until then, I suppose the best solution is simply to become as diverse and well-rounded as possible. There is a small danger in falling too deeply into a sub-sub-field, in that the view of the big picture is sometimes lost. But such specialists are also a necessity, and staying mindful of this danger can be a sufficient remedy for the specialist.