Great article, particularly the books listed at the bottom. I have not read "Polymath," but I do have summaries of the latter two books in my online library of book summaries. Your readers might start there:
I have been an engineer, project manager, program manager, solider, writer/author, DIY home and automotive. Does that make me a polymath? This article has certainly peaked my interest.
It means you've got polymathic tendencies. To me, polymathy is about seeing the patterns across domains and disciplines and being able to weave them together. The broader the better. To others it can be like you described, cross-functional and constantly curious.
That's a fair point to make. Having a systems/engineering background helps but may not be enough to be considered polymathic. Often in solution testing - we have to know all the different components involved when troubleshooting issues as the answer may not be simple although patterns will emerge at times, once those patterns are isolated then you can dig into the root cause of an issue or a solution. I view writing similar to large scale network solutions - where certain products/devices have a specific role they play in the system, though this is defined through character or the world itself. And in story - you have your protagonist and antagonist much like our systems that are built to provide services yet there's always someone trying to bring them down. lol
Exactly. Right now I'm struggling to bring people on board with a multi-threaded initiative and, while some get it, the ones that don't, just can't see the forrest for the trees.
I can relate. It largely depends on the culture within the organization down to the individual. and the influencers. I've had my share of challenges with sharing a vision with others and getting them onboard.
My first go to, instinctively, is to make it bigger. This drives my husband insane. MOUHAHAHA
My favourite quote of all time.
"There is an infinite, thrumming, unseen web that joins everything. Everything is connected to everything else… this fact is nearly impossible for us to grasp because we are just mollusks, shut up tight at the bottom of a dark, cold ocean, trying to make sense of stars we cannot even see."
via The Finder (whose character, Walter Sherman, also made it bigger), via Bones and The Locator series of two books written by Richard Greener, via Galactica.
When I describe the way I like to learn to folks, every now and then I'll mention that I think in a polymathic manner, but I definitely get why people might bristle if we call ourselves polymaths as such. The name has a meaning that isn't always clear, and people assume that you have to be an ultra-genius to think this way (of course, the whole point of what you and I both do is that this isn't the case).
I love the simple advice to try more things before specializing. Above everything else, I missed this concept when I was a kid, forced to choose a major at like age 15. "Let's do only this for the rest of your life", the system seemed to suggest to me.
Exactly right. I think you and I, knuckle dragging primates, demonstrate that anyone can embrace the mindset and stretch. I also find it very freeing when I give myself the permission to explore everywhere.
I'm writing an essay about liberal arts education and I think the answer is yes, as long as it's founded on the 7 classic liberal arts of the Trivium: Grammar, rhetoric, and logic and the Quadrivium: Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music.
We used a classical approach to homeschooling our two children based on the Trivium. 1-6th grade was considered vocabulary, 7-8th logic, and 9-12th rhetoric. This order is used throughout life - we learn the terms of new info, how the terms relate to each other, and understand well enough to explain to others. It was a literature based curriculum, and we studied Greek and Latin vocabulary. There was a bibliography of 1000 books divided into age levels, with a good number available through the library.
I really enjoyed learning and relearning with them.
I love polymathy. My background supports it—higher studies in engineering, philosophy, a PhD in economics, and a deep passion for history, biology and art. But my curiosity and desire to explore so many other fields sometimes make me wonder: am I, deep down, just a dilettante? A know-it-all, a busybody, always eager to weigh in, write, and talk about everything?
I love your background but not your conclusion. 😀 You use that term as a pejorative. I view that as fucking awesome. A friend of mine and I laugh about how many threads we can hold in different topics and then weave it into a cohesive conclusion.
To many it seems a know it all but I know I know so very little and always want to learn more even if that's 100x anyone else. It's not a flex for me. It's an aspiration.
Great article, particularly the books listed at the bottom. I have not read "Polymath," but I do have summaries of the latter two books in my online library of book summaries. Your readers might start there:
https://techratchet.com/2020/03/13/book-summary-range-why-generalist-triumph-in-a-specialized-world-by-daniel-epstein/
https://techratchet.com/2020/05/21/book-summary-where-good-ideas-come-from-by-steven-johnson/
Both are excellent, but I particularly like "Range."
Fantastic and thanks for sharing.
I have been an engineer, project manager, program manager, solider, writer/author, DIY home and automotive. Does that make me a polymath? This article has certainly peaked my interest.
It means you've got polymathic tendencies. To me, polymathy is about seeing the patterns across domains and disciplines and being able to weave them together. The broader the better. To others it can be like you described, cross-functional and constantly curious.
That's a fair point to make. Having a systems/engineering background helps but may not be enough to be considered polymathic. Often in solution testing - we have to know all the different components involved when troubleshooting issues as the answer may not be simple although patterns will emerge at times, once those patterns are isolated then you can dig into the root cause of an issue or a solution. I view writing similar to large scale network solutions - where certain products/devices have a specific role they play in the system, though this is defined through character or the world itself. And in story - you have your protagonist and antagonist much like our systems that are built to provide services yet there's always someone trying to bring them down. lol
Exactly. Right now I'm struggling to bring people on board with a multi-threaded initiative and, while some get it, the ones that don't, just can't see the forrest for the trees.
I can relate. It largely depends on the culture within the organization down to the individual. and the influencers. I've had my share of challenges with sharing a vision with others and getting them onboard.
It’s a perenial challenge. Thankfully my current role has leadership who ‘speak my language’ so they’ve got my back.
My first go to, instinctively, is to make it bigger. This drives my husband insane. MOUHAHAHA
My favourite quote of all time.
"There is an infinite, thrumming, unseen web that joins everything. Everything is connected to everything else… this fact is nearly impossible for us to grasp because we are just mollusks, shut up tight at the bottom of a dark, cold ocean, trying to make sense of stars we cannot even see."
via The Finder (whose character, Walter Sherman, also made it bigger), via Bones and The Locator series of two books written by Richard Greener, via Galactica.
That's a great quote and exactly right.
When I describe the way I like to learn to folks, every now and then I'll mention that I think in a polymathic manner, but I definitely get why people might bristle if we call ourselves polymaths as such. The name has a meaning that isn't always clear, and people assume that you have to be an ultra-genius to think this way (of course, the whole point of what you and I both do is that this isn't the case).
I love the simple advice to try more things before specializing. Above everything else, I missed this concept when I was a kid, forced to choose a major at like age 15. "Let's do only this for the rest of your life", the system seemed to suggest to me.
Exactly right. I think you and I, knuckle dragging primates, demonstrate that anyone can embrace the mindset and stretch. I also find it very freeing when I give myself the permission to explore everywhere.
Would you agree with the idea to get a formal liberal education as a foundation for specialization?
I'm writing an essay about liberal arts education and I think the answer is yes, as long as it's founded on the 7 classic liberal arts of the Trivium: Grammar, rhetoric, and logic and the Quadrivium: Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music.
There is a better version of the Trivium out there. Keiran Egan (RIP) improved this concept. Brandon Hendrickson is working to spread it.
We used a classical approach to homeschooling our two children based on the Trivium. 1-6th grade was considered vocabulary, 7-8th logic, and 9-12th rhetoric. This order is used throughout life - we learn the terms of new info, how the terms relate to each other, and understand well enough to explain to others. It was a literature based curriculum, and we studied Greek and Latin vocabulary. There was a bibliography of 1000 books divided into age levels, with a good number available through the library.
I really enjoyed learning and relearning with them.
Awesome. We homeschool our kids as well and are going to start working in more of the classics.
I love polymathy. My background supports it—higher studies in engineering, philosophy, a PhD in economics, and a deep passion for history, biology and art. But my curiosity and desire to explore so many other fields sometimes make me wonder: am I, deep down, just a dilettante? A know-it-all, a busybody, always eager to weigh in, write, and talk about everything?
I love your background but not your conclusion. 😀 You use that term as a pejorative. I view that as fucking awesome. A friend of mine and I laugh about how many threads we can hold in different topics and then weave it into a cohesive conclusion.
To many it seems a know it all but I know I know so very little and always want to learn more even if that's 100x anyone else. It's not a flex for me. It's an aspiration.
Nice! It's aways great to establish a foundation where we can start to think differently.
Fantastic!