Which is more important? Breadth of knowledge or depth of knowledge?

Breadth refers to knowledge on a wider range of topics while depth refers to more specific knowledge on one particular topic.

This question on which one is better is perhaps an offshoot of my search to improve myself on this front.

Although I have had extensive experience in designing and developing software applications, there is no particular language or tool that I have memorized like the back of my hand as some “experts” have. I have gathered knowledge from various sources on a variety of tools/languages and make use of that knowledge whenever I work. I will rarely hesitate to begin working in a different language if it suits my purpose, despite the learning curve associated with anything different.

Some people, though, think differently. They prefer to become specialists in their chosen field. Here we come to a crossroads. To specialize or not to specialize?

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Allow me to rant.

I feel there is a lack of intellectual stimulation in my current environment. I’m not going to lie, software development is an interesting field to work in - there are so many new things to learn, and no one person can keep up with all the advances being brought forth in the field today. With all this exciting new stuff, how can there be a lack of growth?

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One problem I have encountered when reading blogs through my web browser is that it takes a lot of time just to check whether one of your favorite bloggers has posted new content or not. Those among us with tight schedules will also find that sometimes, there’s just not enough time to check all their favorite sites for updates. It is doubly frustrating when after you reach your favorite blog, you find that the latest entry is the one you read 2 weeks ago. It makes you wish that you could opt to be informed when new content is introduced to the site so you can visit it. The fact is, this is actually possible using web syndication (the most common type of syndication is a web feed).Let me show you how I use initially a browser (I use Mozilla Firefox) and a feed reader (Mozilla Thunderbird) to keep track of my favorite sites’ updates with web feeds.

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