My friend Laura Beth Nielsen at the American Bar Foundation has a theory that people who are good at one thing are good at everything. Since she shared it with me, I have thought often about whether it is true. I tend to believe it, with the important qualification that the right kind of practice is critical to being good at anything. It may well be that people who are good at one thing have learned how to do the right kind of practice, not just for that task, but more generally.
Dubner is a case study of someone who has had success doing two very different things. His prowess as a writer/journalist is well documented. Much less well known is that earlier in life he was a rock star. He always claimed that, but I had never seen much tangible evidence. His former bandmate in 
The Right Profile, Jeffrey Dean Foster (still making some excellent music), finally provides the smoking gun evidence that proves Dubner was a rock ‘n’ roll heartthrob: it takes the form of this promo shot taken shortly after the band was signed by Clive Davis to Arista Records. That is sexy Stephen on the far right.
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I would strongly disagree, if the assertion is that a person who is good at something is automatically, or natively, good at everything (or even any other thing).
It’s likely true that an intelligent person, especially one with good study habits, has a head start when trying to break into a new field or a different realm of knowledge. But that’s a long way from being good at everything, and it especially doesn’t make their opinions on matters outside their specialty worth more than anyone else’s.
I’ve often referred to this as “doctor’s disease”, but it’s not limited to doctors or to other professionals like lawyers, it’s just more common there, as though social status itself confers special powers.
I’ve seen countless examples in my working life of people who exhibit this delusion — for example, that because they’re very good at their jobs, they’re qualified to run the company, or even manage a small group. It’s also gives us the odd notion that celebrities have a special insight into politics, etc. The Peter Principle was popular for a reason — it struck a chord in people, played to a type we all know.
You’ve seen it too: everyone else’s job looks easy from the outside. How many times have we heard someone, even ourselves, ask “how hard could that be?” Turns out, easy at a superficial level, not so easy in the details.
So, in my opinion, busted. And the sooner they get over it the better.
— MackI wonder if we could get Dubner to pose like that today? It seems doubtful.
— RachaelInteresting. I have friend who is a well-respected psychologist that recently discussed leading a double-life as a punk rocker by night while he was working on his PhD; arguing his dissertation and presenting papers by day. Now, he gives all the appearance of a good Catholic family man and carries himself well professionally.
Does that mean he is good at “everything”? I think the illusion follows well, and that this is a matter of perception. An individual who absorbs him or her self in the moment, and has the forethought and imagination to “be” whatever he or she desires completely at the given time, can pull off this illusion quite well. Most of us in our distracted, fragmented lives try but have difficulty doing this, so it appears, as Mack suggests, easy, while in reality it is not.
I like to think, however, that personalities that can pull off this slight-of-mind vs. slight-of- hand trickery are best at fooling themselves. Of course, in that sense, we are all as guilty as they are. So, to all who can achieve this grande illusion, my hat’s off to you, Dubner included. When I grow up I want to be just like you. ;)
— slow_daycueing peroration on comparative advantage in 3, 2, 1….
— bensSJD Should Join This Band
http://www.rockbottomremainders.com/band.htm
— qualitygI would also disagree, if I may. To me it is logical that someone who is good at writing would also be good in music–they are both creative. On the other hand, I know someone who is gifted at teaching, managing and leading, who for the life of him cannot understand anything mechanical or to do with drafting or sensing what direction he is going in. I think it is a brain function thing.
— CNanneryDo you mean Michael Jordan would be a great president? How come he didn’t manage to step Whashington Wizards’ game up?
— unroyaloh baby-baby. look out def leppard!
— Princess LeiaI would not want to be operated on by a brilliant brain surgeon who was also a brilliant violinist.
“Good at two things” might simply mean amateur hour,
— leflawjack of all trades, master of none, etc.
hey how about that sexy Larry Fleming!
— kahunaI saw Mr. Dubner with The Right Profile.
The Band was very popular with the ladies!
:))
— RatjawI’d say that we all can be good in everything, but everything we like to do. It dependes on our wills. That’s why wee see excelent musicians that have never learned to play their instruments in a formal class playing really good, for example. We can apply it in all the careers, all activities.
— Luis Fernando LimaHow biggest the will is, the talent may follow that.
I was probably the Right Profile’s No. 1 fan in North Carolina. Steve (as he was known back then) always was a good writer, but when I moved from North Carolina to New York and one day saw his cover story in the Times Magazine, I was surprised. I knew he was good writer, but I just expected him to become a rock star. Because as good a writer as he is, I’m telling you, he was equally as good of a rocker. The Right Profile was one of those bands that really should have become huge. Ryan Adams? Psst. He was about a decade late.
— Mark Kemp