Post by Nuno Castel-Branco

What can scientists’ productivity in history teach us about working better today? My research on Nicolaus Steno, the scientist who “discovered” female ovaries and is known as the “founder of modern geology,” sheds light on this. Between 1662 and 1669, when Newton was inventing calculus in England, Steno produced five groundbreaking books across anatomy, mathematics, and geology. All in seven years. Steno is often described as a polymath. But his productivity did not come from pursuing broad learning for its own sake. Instead, Steno drew selectively on different disciplines to solve specific problems. I call this “focused interdisciplinarity”: learning widely, but with a clear intellectual purpose. That distinction still matters. In science, business, and creative work, breadth is most powerful when it sharpens focus rather than dispersing it. The ultimate goal is not to master everything. It is to know what other fields can help you see, and solve, more clearly.