To me, the article isn't saying to abandon the road to mastery, but merely to take some detours once in a while. Dedicating a lot of time and energy to something is definitely fulfilling and has a compounding effect, but as many astute programmers have noticed, there is an echo-chamber effect if all the information you get is from programmers and the programming world. Worse, you could continue to hold incredibly inaccurate beliefs about other people like the professional photographer in the article, and make judgment calls based on that false information.
Of course you need something to bring to table in modern times, to be a productive member of society. However, that doesn't mean to specialize to the extent that you lose all context. Dig deep, sure, but come up for air sometime and take a look around. You'll be surprised at what you may discover.
Of course you need something to bring to table in modern times, to be a productive member of society. However, that doesn't mean to specialize to the extent that you lose all context. Dig deep, sure, but come up for air sometime and take a look around. You'll be surprised at what you may discover.