Embrace Multidisciplinary Curiosity

By TMP 44th Editorial Board

One would have difficulty classifying Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks within any single discipline. On one page, he sketches the tendons of a hand; on another, the design of a flying machine. Historians have found it convenient to divide his identity: painter, anatomist, engineer, architect, inventor. However, his paintings were born of conversation between studies, borrowing from anatomy the hue of the skin, from optics the behavior of light, and from physics the laws of motion. At Milton, we experience a similar division. Though a student, perhaps within a single day, travels from English classrooms to chemistry laboratories to dance rehearsals, we readily reduce one another to overly simplistic descriptors. We, however, encourage our readers to prioritize a multidisciplinary array of interests and approach their lives at Milton and beyond with unrepentant curiosity; we believe that by doing so, you can lead better and more successful lives.

The pursuit of a single discipline becomes almost impossible without linking our siloed fields of study together. At Milton, nearly every academic department lists some form of interdisciplinary course: the English Department teaches Literature and the Environmental Humanities, which explores centuries of history and science, while the Science Department has History and Philosophy of Science, a comprehensive look at how we derive knowledge. Each discipline remains incomplete without another; to view any subject as a standalone pursuit is to forget that what we study in school makes up the interconnected world beyond Milton. In Literature of Technology and Disruption, students are encouraged to connect Neil Postman’s claim that “every technology is both a burden and a blessing” to key principles of microeconomics, such as trade-offs and opportunity costs. Beyond Milton, scientists read and write literature (Isaac Asimov comes to mind), and historians rely on an understanding of just about the entire world. Specializing in one interest without expansive curiosity is a foolish approach to excelling at anything, as only when we become better-rounded people can we think creatively enough to become innovators and trailblazers. To deliberately confine yourself to a singular discipline at an institution that prides itself on its multifaceted education is to deprive yourself of the richness of the Milton experience.

Milton’s comparative culture often forces us to become outstanding in a single field, as does adult life. Although the administration discourages us from “majoring” in any subject, social pressures drive us to devote ourselves to singular fields, even within the broad categories of STEM and humanities. Milton boasts an incredibly talented student body with diverse skills and passions; our culture creates the unspoken expectation that one must excel at something. Consequently, because we cannot be exceptional at everything, students often choose to explore fields in which they are the strongest to both boost their confidence and socially prove their ability. Apart from social pressures, competition for college admission also drives students to specialize to tell their unique narratives. Ultimately, this specialization becomes a subconscious marker of our identity—athlete, writer, scientist—that traps us in our comfort zones. However, in the process of specializing in individual fields, people sacrifice strengthening their current expertise by gaining new perspectives and appreciating the beautiful fluidity between seemingly disparate subjects.

Stepping out of our comfort zones and becoming amateurs in another field requires courage, but this courage is essential. Thus, TMP urges our readers to remain endlessly curious. Students should dive headfirst into all that excites them. We should read widely, try out for a play, and wholeheartedly devote ourselves to classes outside our supposed specialties. We must seize every opportunity that excites us and remain unwavering even as we may fall short. Hopefully, in doing so, we will realize that the most meaningful growth stems from unconstrained curiosity rather than specialization.