Every so often, a person comes along who seems to be an expert at a bunch of different things. Sometimes, this person ends up being like Cliff Clavin from Cheers—unsung heroes with a wide range of knowledge, but destined to fade into the background of history.
Then there’s a person like Al-Kindi.
This is when the Cliff Clavin type, the know-it-all, is at the perfect place and time so that their contributions are amplified and widespread. Al-Kindi was perfectly positioned to bring the knowledge of the classical world into the modern era (“modern” being the 9th century), and his contributions to understanding the world have few rivals in all of human history.
Also: Al-Kindi was way, way smarter than Cliff Clavin. Let’s talk about him a bit today.
Know-It-Alls
Clavin, the iconic Cheers character, is a know-it-all. He insists on showing off his knowledge every day at the bar, and it seems to give him a sense of self-worth.
Al-Kindi seems to have been a little bit like this, but with a crucial distinction: Al-Kindi was not just a know-it-all; he was a polymath. While Clavin may impress—or annoy—bar patrons with trivia and facts, a polymath like Al-Kindi used his diverse knowledge to fundamentally change our understanding of the world.
runs , a place where he focuses on broadening knowledge. He and I have collaborated in the past to write An Ode to Coffee and Beware the Binary. Michael defines a polymath like this:A Polymath (Greek: πολυμαθής, polymathēs, "having learned much"; Latin: homo universalis, "universal human")[1] is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems.
Fundamentally, I view this as an aspirational goal to reconceptualize the world around us and to draw from a broad array of fields to solve complex problems.
Michael and I see eye to eye on this. The modern world does not lend itself to specialization nearly as much as it has in the past, and understanding as much as you can across a diverse range of fields is the best way to prepare for an uncertain future. It’s also the best way for me to satisfy my curiosity about the world, and to get the most complete worldview possible.
Today, being a polymath is often seen as a relic of the past, an almost mythical ideal. 1100 years ago, things were quite different. Imagine someone knowing more about philosophy, math, medicine, and quite possibly music than anyone else alive at the time, and you might have an idea of how much of an absolute badass Al-Kindi was.
The Pre-Renaissance Renaissance-Man
You know that phrase, “jack of all trades, but master of none”? Well, Al-Kindi was a master of many. His contributions were so diverse and revolutionary that calling him a polymath almost seems like an understatement.
In mathematics, Al-Kindi was instrumental in introducing Hindu numerals to the Islamic world. You know those symbols for numbers you use every day, like 8675309?
Thanks, Al-Kindi.
I wrote about how the number zero came about here, and without the zero, our ability to do any sort of complex math had a very low ceiling. But imagine trying to do calculation with, say, Roman numerals. Without getting our your abacus, what’s XVII times MCMLXVI? Let me know in the comments.
In philosophy, Al-Kindi was an incredibly important connector, integrating Greek philosophy with Islamic principles, shaping the intellectual discourse for generations to come. Because he insisted that philosophy and religion were not mutually exclusive, he helped set the stage for the Islamic Golden Age.
In medicine, he used the scientific method to determine what worked and what didn’t, and developed a way of precisely measuring drug doses. He wrote extensively about diseases of the eye, ear, nose, and throat. He developed new surgical techniques for the treatment of eye diseases. And, he wrote about the importance of hygiene, diet, and exercise in preventing disease.
Al-Kindi wrote a book about cryptography, too. He was the first to systematically study the frequency of letters in a text, and he developed a method for using this information to break ciphers. This method is still used today by cryptographers.
Even in the field of music, Al-Kindi was a titan. One of his most important contributions to music theory was his work on the mathematical foundations of music. As if that wasn’t enough, he also invented several new instruments, and improved upon existing instruments. He even dabbled in music therapy, trying to determine if music could improve physiology by running experiments.
Lasting Legacy
You might say that Al-Kindi was far ahead of the modern world, but I’d argue that he helped to create the modern world. By introducing Greek philosophy and mathematics to the most dominant empire in the world at the time, he opened up a portal for millions to peer back at those ideas, and then build upon them.
Nobody today is a walking library. There’s just too much information in the world for any one individual to be the best at more than one or two things, and even two things is quite a stretch. However, being a jack of many trades and master of none (or few) has a great deal of merit today.
Finding connections across diverse fields is where it’s at.
I’m far from a know-it-all, although I certainly enjoy writing every day. But there are many more things I don’t know than things I know out there, and I am perpetually curious about those things. My goal is to share the knowledge I discover with you here, so we can have a more thoughtful dialogue about these ideas, but I also want to hear about what sort of ideas you’re uncovering.
What are some thoughts, questions, or revelations you've had recently that you'd like to explore further? Have you noticed any connections between seemingly diverse fields?
Jack of all trades and master of none, but most often better than a master of one!
Of note, most of the titans of the Renaissance were polymaths. They transformed fractured knowledge into structured wisdom and birthed the sciences. Since then most people have focused on specializing in a science. The complexity of problems today require Polymathic thinking again!
I love this essay - I didn't know about Al-Kindi and am glad to find out. Reading it also made me think about all the unsung geniuses who vanished from history, whether because they were women, poor, illiterate, felled by childhood diseases, or simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Al-Kindi was lucky. We are lucky, just to be here, posting, with a megaphone that stretches around the world.