What is a polymath? THE LAST DAYS OF THE POLYMATH. People who know a lot about a lot have long been an exclusive club, but now they are an endangered species. Edward Carr tracks some down ... From INTELLIGENT LIFE Magazine, Autumn 2009 CARL DJERASSI can remember the moment when he became a writer. It was 1993, he was a professor of chemistry at Stanford University in California and he had already written books about science and about his life as one of the inventors of the Pill. Now he wanted to write a literary novel about writers’ insecurities, with a central character loosely modelled on Norman Mailer, Philip Roth and Gore Vidal. His wife, Diane Middlebrook, thought it was a ridiculous idea.
Even at 85, slight and snowy-haired, Djerassi is a determined man. Eventually Djerassi got the bound galleys of his book. Diane Middlebrook died of cancer in 2007 and, as Djerassi speaks, her presence grows stronger. Carl Djerassi is a polymath. The word “polymath” teeters somewhere between Leonardo da Vinci and Stephen Fry. The Polymath Discussion Group. Welcome to The Polymath Discussion Group. It's a place where lifelong learners with far ranging interests can meet, get to know each other and decide if they want to become members of Polymathica. The dictionary defines a polymath as someone knowledgeable in many subjects. We use the term a little bit differently. We consider a polymath someone who is interested in and learning about many subjects. We don't focus on the current state of that knowledge base.
As you've no doubt noticed, our culture isn't exactly accommodating of the polymathic lifestyle. So many of us want to know far more than we do. At the core of a polymathic personality is an unrestrained curiosity -- about nearly everything. First and foremost, Polymathica is a social organization -- a community of like minded people. We are told that in order to succeed in life we have to specialize.
If this letter resonates with you, join The Polymath Discussion Group. We hope to see you around. Michael Ferguson PS. Return to top. The Polymath Newsletter, The Polymathic Lifestyle. "Since everything is related, I can start anywhere. I choose to start in the Bahamas. " Douglas Adams, 1952-2001 One of our founders, like most polymaths, has a large and eclectic personal library. She and her husband are not the most fastidious librarians, so, at times, books get re-shelved in odd places. One day I was at their house and I noticed that a book about Friedrich Nietzsche was right next to a book about Erwin Schrodinger.
I turned to them and asked, 'What am I to surmise from this? I tend to socialize with polymaths. According to Hirsch and his Cultural Literacy, every American should 'get' my Nietzsche-Schrodinger reference. Polymathica is a social group for eclectic, lifelong learners, but in a way we are also a nascent cultural viewpoint. However, Polymathica isn't really about that. The short answer is, "I don't know. The dictionary defines a polymath as someone knowledgeable in many subjects. When we meet polymaths, we hear the same statements over and over. Want to Be a Polymath Like da Vinci? Follow These Four Steps. This is a guest post by Christopher Hutton of Liter8 Ideas. Polymath (noun) - A person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning. Polymaths aren’t born, they’re made. They are created by way of human patterns and practices that were copied from the years of Da Vinci and Michelangelo.
And so, we have an opportunity to perform behaviors that will build us into potential Polymaths. This post will give you the four crucial steps you should follow when you’re trying to become a polymath. 1. A polymath is a person that knows many things. Determine what you want to be an expert in. It’s helpful if you set exact and specific goals for you to perform. A way of building a plan for personal growth is writing something like a bucket list.
For example, I want to write a thorough journalistic treatise on the topic of psychology and economics. It’s also worth picking goals that span a number of realms. Have someone else offer suggestions. 2. 3. However, this practice cannot be simplistic repetition. 4. Polymath. Leonardo da Vinci is regarded as a "Renaissance man" and is one of the most recognizable polymaths. A polymath (Greek: πολυμαθής, polymathēs, "having learned much")[1] is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas; such a person is known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. The term was first used in the seventeenth century but the related term, polyhistor, is an ancient term with similar meaning. The term applies to the gifted people of the Renaissance who sought to develop their abilities in all areas of knowledge as well as in physical development, social accomplishments, and the arts, in contrast to the vast majority of people of that age who were not well educated.
This term entered the lexicon during the twentieth century and has now been applied to great thinkers living before and after the Renaissance. Renaissance ideal[edit] Robert A. Related terms[edit] Polymath and polyhistor compared[edit] See also[edit] In Defense of Polymaths - Kyle Wiens. By Kyle Wiens | 8:54 AM May 18, 2012 Polymath is one of those words more likely to show up on the SAT than in everyday conversation. But the reason we don’t use the word much these days has less to do with vocabulary than it has to do with practicality: there aren’t a lot of polymaths around anymore.
In case you don’t have your pocket dictionary handy, a polymath is a person with a wide range of knowledge or learning. Think people like Leonardo da Vinci (artist and helicopter designer), Benjamin Franklin (founding father, inventor, and all-around lady-killer), Paul Robeson (scholar, athlete, actor, and civil rights activist), and even Steve Jobs (engineer, businessman extraordinaire, and marketing mastermind). Still, while we admire the select “geniuses” that can do it all, we tend to disparage the regular folk who attempt to spread their knowledge around a little.
But why? “It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Angelou said to the Smithsonian. And that’s fine. The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades. Specialization isn’t always a good thing. Photo from 1951 assembly line. Are the days of Da Vinci dead? Is it possible to, at once, be a world-class painter, engineer, scientist, and more? “No way. Those times are long gone. Nothing was discovered then. Now the best you can do is pick your field and master it.”
Is it true? 5) “Jack of all trades, master of none” is an artificial pairing. It is entirely possible to be a jack of all trades, master of many. Generalists recognize that the 80/20 principle applies to skills: 20% of a language’s vocabulary will enable you to communicate and understand at least 80%, 20% of a dance like tango (lead and footwork) separates the novice from the pro, 20% of the moves in a sport account for 80% of the scoring, etc. Not at all. 4) In a world of dogmatic specialists, it’s the generalist who ends up running the show. 3) Boredom is failure. 2) Diversity of intellectual playgrounds breeds confidence instead of fear of the unknown. Why take their advice? Project Polymath: Catalyzing Interdisciplinary Education for a New Renaissance. Polymath: ‘A Renaissance Man’ Know something about everything and everything about something T H Huxley The only thing that I know is that I know nothing Socrates Definition of polymath: [n] a person of great and varied learning There is an increasing demand for people who can work across boundaries and in many different fields: people who can understand the linkages and connections between the various disciplines of modern life.
This article and the essays that follow were compiled principally as an aide-memoir to me – I make no apologies for repetition of the work of others who have enhanced my understanding – I hope their wisdom may prove as useful to others as it did for me. This web section on polymath explores the connotation ‘A Renaissance Man’ and the relevance of wisdom to current life. It was thought a Renaissance man should - • Be able to defend himself with a variety of weapons, especially the sword Wisdom Wisdom is the ability to make sound choices, good decisions--the best decision.
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