This chapter was interesting to me in that it discussed specialization as an obsession. I feel it is important that we have people in society that specialize in certain fields but it is equally as important that we have people in society who are "jack of all trades" so to say. Our class discussion solidified that for me. As important as it is for someone to be the "best in their field" and to know everything there is about a specific subject or idea, we also need people who know a little bit about many subjects or ideas. The latter are those who may be the ones that tie things together or see relationships between ideas or subjects that those who specialize may not see.
Sir Francis Galton was obsessed with science and in reading about him I was struck by how dedicated he seemed to feel about his field. Granted, Davis talks about how he had breakdowns from time to time, but had Galton not been obsessed we would not have all the great things that he discovered and developed. His attention to detail did seem a bit neurotic at times, actually most of the time, but he seemed to thrive when he was "working" until he became too obsessed, and he would have a breakdown.
At the end of the chapter when Davis discusses madness as normal, I can see how he ties science, specialization, overwork and obsession together. During the 19th century the modern world was changing rather quickly with Industrialization and society had to change quickly as well. It seems as though he is trying to say that everything was becoming a blur - overworking was seen as obsessing, science was seen as obsessing, specialization was seen as obsessing and obsessing was also seen as all three.
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