Multidimensional Mindset

I had a conversation recently with an engineer whose mindset was particularly unidimensional: he badmouthed liberal arts, cared only about grades, and talked down on a few student organizations. Sure, you might not learn engineering skills by exploring liberal arts, interacting with non-engineers, or trying new things in general, but you'll likely cultivate a broader, more empathetic perspective that is essential for both effective teamwork and optimal design.

As an engineer or entrepreneur, how can you build something for someone else if you don't even have enough glancing familiarity with them to imagine the world through their eyes? How can you define the feature set? How can you think about pricing? How can you identify the pain-points of a product if you can't even empathize with your user?

Try also fostering those intangibles you learn outside of your curriculum: balance, thoughtful, compassionate, interesting, understanding, experience. I think you'll get a little further, my friend.