I really enjoyed this post. I was raised by my dad who was extreme in a lot of ways when it came to his beliefs that also kept me and my siblings in poverty growing up. I quit school and was out of the house on and off by the age of 15. So while I might not have a traditional education or know too much about the basic applications in grammar or mathematics; I am able to take my real world experiences, emotional intelligence, my keen ability to be flexible, teachable all while remaining tenacious and apply it to create an unique perspective that usually affects myself and community in positives ways. So while I may not be intelligent in an atypical way- I am able to connect in my own way and thats something I should be proud of myself for. Thanks for the reminder that knowing a little about a lot of topics and being able to connect them is something I do well. :)
Just to pick up on what Michael is saying here, your willingness to continue learning your whole life is far more valuable than an education that stopped when you were 22 or 26 or whatever. Granted, there are PhDs and college grads who do continue being hungry for knowledge, but far too many more seem to be content with just knowing... well, everything. Give me a lifetime learner any day of the week, especially if they've had that mindset for decades.
I’d be a polymath if it weren’t for the part where you have to recognize what you don’t know. Also BJJ parallels every where. Though I’m not much of a practitioner these days, I credit it partially for me doing as well as I’ve done health wise. Ya know, not dying and all.
Very thought provoking. If I may go out on a bit of a limb here, this makes me think of how say, I might apply my tennis knowledge to other areas. To be "in the zone" for instance requires the same fluidity in sports as in playing guitar. Though this is easy to say, I confess it is hard to break the specialized mindset, a concept deeply imbedded in western thought. The very concept of multi-tasking implies that each task is wholly separate.
We often get stuck in different domains as we go about our daily activities, failing to see or apply the connections. This can lead to a feeling of becoming disjointed and overwhelmed. Here I am doing this, then it's that, then it's onto that...and what about supper, etc.
My skepticism regarding our ability to successfully navigate our way towards a more integrative and inter-disciplinary future, in part, surrounds the elephant in the room: the tools we're using (i.e. the black mirror I'm typing into). These have effectively rewired our brains in ways I don't think we fully appreciate. Not only are we subjected to endless digital distractions, these tools also contribute to the silo effect - as never before.
It's possible we may be on the cusp of breaking out of the old paradigm but perhaps discarding our devices or majorly limiting their use may actually help foster the type of creative innovations for such a transition. Just my thoughts.
An interesting question is why so many polymaths came out of the middle east and ergo our mathematics but that might be a function of their Eastern, less atomistic mindset.
Absolutely this, and also: the confluence of so many different (previously geographically bound) types of thought. They really brought it together for the first time in a way that wasn't possible before the Umayyad caliphate brought east and west, north and south together for the first time ever. Sure, Alexander did something similar for about 30 seconds, but then he died, but also: the Abbasid caliphate encouraged scientific thought and literacy in a way that wasn't previously seen, largely because fidelity to the Quran was super duper important, and astronomical observations were crucial for plotting important dates of religious significance.
I think it was a unique one-two punch that really set things up for a very good couple hundred years of innovation, similar to that which we saw in Athens a thousand years earlier or Rome a few centuries prior, then saw again soon enough in Italy and then in the rest of Europe.
I'll shut up now because others who are way more knowledgeable than me have written books about this, but I love all of this history.
These are good thoughts, and I don't think they're out on a limb, to be honest! Have you ever heard of Charles Ellis? he did an excellent analogy for finance by way of tennis, pointing out that it's a loser's game --meaning that if you're a tennis amateur playing another amateur, you really just want to return the ball, to try not to lose. Whereas, if you're a pro, that's a winner's game... but the point is that we aren't finance pros. Great read in isolation, for what it's worth.
Analogies like these are extremely useful, and they're everywhere. I don't know if other people are capable of thinking the way we (and you) describe here, but I believe I am. I don't like to differentiate between work and play, between one task and another, and I think I pick up more insights than most because of this.
Absolutely! I like the mantra, "jack of all trades and master of few." If you can dive deep in a few areas, and broadly in addition, there are ample opportunities all around you!
I really enjoyed this post. I was raised by my dad who was extreme in a lot of ways when it came to his beliefs that also kept me and my siblings in poverty growing up. I quit school and was out of the house on and off by the age of 15. So while I might not have a traditional education or know too much about the basic applications in grammar or mathematics; I am able to take my real world experiences, emotional intelligence, my keen ability to be flexible, teachable all while remaining tenacious and apply it to create an unique perspective that usually affects myself and community in positives ways. So while I may not be intelligent in an atypical way- I am able to connect in my own way and thats something I should be proud of myself for. Thanks for the reminder that knowing a little about a lot of topics and being able to connect them is something I do well. :)
Intelligence /= education. You might not have the same education but you certainly have the intelligence!
Just to pick up on what Michael is saying here, your willingness to continue learning your whole life is far more valuable than an education that stopped when you were 22 or 26 or whatever. Granted, there are PhDs and college grads who do continue being hungry for knowledge, but far too many more seem to be content with just knowing... well, everything. Give me a lifetime learner any day of the week, especially if they've had that mindset for decades.
Thank you, I appreciate that distinction.
Very informative. Personally I like connecting different unrelated dots. So being a generalist rather than a specialist is my preference naturally.
Same
To add on to your mantra, sometimes I like to reach into other disciplines or perspectives to find the "BUT".
Usually, this contrarian attitude helps me understand the "Yes" part in much more detail than before, with caveats.
Yes And So But Also
I love it.
Incredible piece guys! I am shocked Leonardo DaVinci wasn’t mentioned.
Dude, I was even hesitant to mention Fanklin because he is so often cited!
He's too easy. He is mentioned in my inaugural essay.
https://www.polymathicbeing.com/p/the-bane-of-specialization-defense
Haha, true true. Let me try another. Demis Hasabbis.
I could keep Polymathic being alive with just biographies. But I want to give people the ability to be in biographies.
I’d be a polymath if it weren’t for the part where you have to recognize what you don’t know. Also BJJ parallels every where. Though I’m not much of a practitioner these days, I credit it partially for me doing as well as I’ve done health wise. Ya know, not dying and all.
Are you thinking like "stuck under side control, no sense in moving since I'll offer them a submission"? I certainly do that one.
The wicked problems bit reminded me of a New Englander saying wicked smart.
I'm sold, I want to join the club. Where do I sign?
Well Walther, you're already a subscriber to Polymathic Being. That's the first part. :)
Part two. Want to co-author something?
Yes, let's do it.
Very thought provoking. If I may go out on a bit of a limb here, this makes me think of how say, I might apply my tennis knowledge to other areas. To be "in the zone" for instance requires the same fluidity in sports as in playing guitar. Though this is easy to say, I confess it is hard to break the specialized mindset, a concept deeply imbedded in western thought. The very concept of multi-tasking implies that each task is wholly separate.
We often get stuck in different domains as we go about our daily activities, failing to see or apply the connections. This can lead to a feeling of becoming disjointed and overwhelmed. Here I am doing this, then it's that, then it's onto that...and what about supper, etc.
My skepticism regarding our ability to successfully navigate our way towards a more integrative and inter-disciplinary future, in part, surrounds the elephant in the room: the tools we're using (i.e. the black mirror I'm typing into). These have effectively rewired our brains in ways I don't think we fully appreciate. Not only are we subjected to endless digital distractions, these tools also contribute to the silo effect - as never before.
It's possible we may be on the cusp of breaking out of the old paradigm but perhaps discarding our devices or majorly limiting their use may actually help foster the type of creative innovations for such a transition. Just my thoughts.
An interesting question is why so many polymaths came out of the middle east and ergo our mathematics but that might be a function of their Eastern, less atomistic mindset.
Absolutely this, and also: the confluence of so many different (previously geographically bound) types of thought. They really brought it together for the first time in a way that wasn't possible before the Umayyad caliphate brought east and west, north and south together for the first time ever. Sure, Alexander did something similar for about 30 seconds, but then he died, but also: the Abbasid caliphate encouraged scientific thought and literacy in a way that wasn't previously seen, largely because fidelity to the Quran was super duper important, and astronomical observations were crucial for plotting important dates of religious significance.
I think it was a unique one-two punch that really set things up for a very good couple hundred years of innovation, similar to that which we saw in Athens a thousand years earlier or Rome a few centuries prior, then saw again soon enough in Italy and then in the rest of Europe.
I'll shut up now because others who are way more knowledgeable than me have written books about this, but I love all of this history.
These are good thoughts, and I don't think they're out on a limb, to be honest! Have you ever heard of Charles Ellis? he did an excellent analogy for finance by way of tennis, pointing out that it's a loser's game --meaning that if you're a tennis amateur playing another amateur, you really just want to return the ball, to try not to lose. Whereas, if you're a pro, that's a winner's game... but the point is that we aren't finance pros. Great read in isolation, for what it's worth.
Analogies like these are extremely useful, and they're everywhere. I don't know if other people are capable of thinking the way we (and you) describe here, but I believe I am. I don't like to differentiate between work and play, between one task and another, and I think I pick up more insights than most because of this.
Absolutely! I like the mantra, "jack of all trades and master of few." If you can dive deep in a few areas, and broadly in addition, there are ample opportunities all around you!
They call this a T shaped skills too.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-shaped_skills