[digi_owl]

Indeed. More and more discoveries these days come from cross-field interactions.

Things like a prof from one field walking past a blackboard with some formula or other for a different field and noticing that it is remarkably similar to something he knows intimately, or a solved problem in his field.

Similarly fresh eyes may notice or question something that trained eyes has overlooked virtually by habit.

That said, there is a risk that one get a "eternal september" scenario where any useful input is drowned in the flood of noise from a stampeding horde of newcomers.