Generic is the opposite of specific. Generic and specific refer to the identification of a fact. Specific means a fact that has been specified. If you ask for (specify) a pain reliever, aspirin would be a specific pain reliever, while aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and naproxen together would be generic pain relievers.
Note about the placing of the function parameter list When using a Generic() to select a function based on the controlling-expression you have the choice of including the function argument list inside of the Generic(), meaning within the opening and closing parenthesis of the Generic(), or outside of the Generic().
In your example, Type is a generic type parameter (type variable). When I see just T is that the same thing? Assuming the token is in the same position, yes. By adding we are telling Typescript to assign whatever type the input is to the output? It's helpful for me to think about them analogous to parameters in functions, but for types.
What makes a "generic list" generic is the fact, that you can use the same class to create a list of apples and a list of potatoes. Of course once you create a list with the new operator you have to decide what objects you want it to store and communicate your decision by putting the Type name of the objects you store in the <>. The following line actually tells the compiler: List<Employee ...