When I read for inspiration, I get at least as much insight and direction from things written at angles to my own work as I do from writings in my circle.
Put another way – I learn a lot from reading outside of my discipline. It’s tempting to focus reading on your own area of expertise, hoping to grow your knowledge and insight. But reading quality work from other disciplines can lead to flashes of insight and applicable, actionable ideas you can transfer.
This is why I think everyone should make music. Not to become a professional musician, but to gain the many insights from practicing a discipline at angles to one’s own. Conversely, I think all musicians should read widely, get inspired by music outside their genre, and even venture into science and math now and again.
The modern model of education seems to value a narrow focus on the classes that help prepare a student for a particular career; this, to me, is deeply mistaken. The best preparation any of us can have for a career is to experience deeply from disciplines diverging from our own – at as many angles as possible.