Specialization has increased efficiency and been a solution for growing complexity by limiting breadth to enable depth. Specialists are, however, vulnerable due to the exponential rate of change. When a specialists area of expertise becomes obsolete her utility can as well.

One response to this has been an emphasis of intelligence. This is easy to see in entertainment. Many characters have been resurrected and created that are absurdly smart. This intelligence gives them the able to do and understand anything they are faced with. Our intelligence is, however, not something we have much control over and, although it makes people more adaptable, it is not a panacea. These characters have many attributes, like emotional intelligence and persistence as well.

Another, more achievable, answer to this problem is building general knowledge: learning how to think about and solve problems in a way that can then be applied in more specialized cases when they emerge. Understanding how to take a set of parameters, arrive at the best solution and effectively communicate the process is the most important skill to build. The ability to do this in any context means that even if your area of expertise disappears you can be relevant somewhere else.

General problem solving can be learned in any discipline, whether you are writing an essay, or a program. Being able to effectively communicate the process to varied audiences, however, can be more difficult. The irrelevance of humanities has been a common topic, but they are a good place to learn both problem solving and communication. They are not the only place, though, and in the end it depends on both the student and the teachers.