Hello, and welcome to “The Unbound Intellectuals.”  My name is Alex Pollinger, and I am a 2015 graduate of Keuka College.  I will begin my pursuit of a Master’s of Public Administration at the University at Albany this August.  When visiting the program, a current student on a ‘Q & A’ panel made a comment that has occupied my thoughts ever since.  To paraphrase, the student said, “The world has enough specialists, but there are not enough generalists.”  As an undergraduate Sociology major, this triggered a rush of thoughts and questions in my mind.

The purpose of higher education is to promote life-long learning and develop “well-rounded” individuals.  What happens when we move beyond that academic setting though?  We become so preoccupied with our lives, our profession, fine-tuning our own expertise.  It is great to have a specialty, and there is nothing inherently wrong with it.  However, most of us forget to continue broadening our horizons.  In fact, it takes quite an effort to network with other professionals or search the Internet to find reliable sources of information on subjects we are not well versed in.  That is the origin of the inspiration for Intellectuals Unbound.

Here is the one place to fulfill that desire to become well-rounded and learn more about subjects outside of your expertise.  It is our mission to rally professionals, academics, or just everyday readers in one location to share thoughts, opinions, and intellectually stimulating material.  Perhaps you are a student of the social sciences, but you are basically clueless when it comes to the world of finance?  The problem is solved.  Nate is here to suggest books, provide information and his own opinions on the subject.

As Alex’s co-conspirator, I hope that we can create nuanced discussion around various topics, and help everyone get a better grasp on how the many pieces of this world fit together. My name is Nate Schreiber, and I am a 2014 graduate of Keuka College. I currently work in the marketing department of a large investment management firm. With a mathematics background and an undergraduate degree in Mathematics, I am fascinated by the potential of data to assist in the answering of any question or problem that exists in the world today.

The goal of this blog is to broaden our horizons and to break down the barriers between disciplines.  We live in an age where the Internet and television has spurred anti-intellectualism through tabloid gossip, uninformed opinions, and biased mass-media outlets that manipulate and limit the flow and diversity of ideas.  Together we can contribute to an exchange of intellectual ideas that are not bound in the limited scope that technology and corporate media conglomerations have erected.  Together we can share our own thoughts on subjects we are well acquainted in with others, while learning from experts in disciplines we are not familiar with.  Through this we can all become “generalists” while maintaining our existence as “specialists.”  Through this we will break down the barriers between disciplines and become “Intellectuals Unbound.”