For further in-depth reading, I recommend the book "Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World". It explores the generalist vs specialist dichotomy within various fields (e.g. sports, music, engineering) and compares the successes and contributions between the two. As you might guess from the title, the book reaches a very similar conclusion - for spaces involving unstructured problem solving such as engineering, breadth lends itself better to creativity and achieving breakthroughs.