The LimiTaTions of T

Let’s be honest, this whole “I-shaped“, “T-shaped” thing, though, useful is, by itself, a pretty big over simplification of the complex and diverse wholeness of a human being. I have found a number of posts and comments on other blogs that speak to this quite clearly. 

At peterme.com there is a good discussion about this:

Let me step back a bit. I have long had issue with the fetishization of “T-shaped” people for the simple reason that I’m not T-shaped. I’ve never been able to articulate my “vertical leg”. Throughout my career I’ve moved from activity to activity, from web development to interface design to information architecture to user research to product strategy. And I think my success is due to my ability to understand the synthesis across these skills and disciplines, to appreciate how to orchestrate them, to know how these integrate to achieve optimal affect.

And at Ryskamp.org Bob Ryskamp has this to say:

Consider this my plea for the design community to stop using the term “T-shaped people”. It’s demeaning, over-simplistic, misleading, and dangerously-influential, which combined with the prior three traits makes for trouble—that starts with “T”…

There are two problems with this phrase: T-shaped people don’t exist, and having T-shaped traits does not indicate design success…

To refer to them as “T-shaped” ignores all these other essential parts of each designer. That is why I say that calling someone “T-shaped” is demeaning and over-simplistic. People shaped like “T”s just don’t exist.

They’re right. We are much more than than any type or shape. These are just shorthand and simplified attempts at understanding something much more complex-a living, breathing complex, open human system. We are much more and will always be much more than any system of classification can make us. 

What is important is to use these systems as a means for understanding ourselves, understanding others and how we relate to and engage the world around us. At the heart of this is our capacity to do so, of which being “T-shaped” “I”, “H” or “A-shaped” is only one crucial yet incomplete part of a much larger and complex whole.

Tags: A-shaped people, capacity, I-shaped people, t-shaped people