I read the book, Why Polymaths?: How Multi-Specialists Revolutionize the Way We Learn, Work, and Live by Aksinya Samoylova, and I started thinking about it again as the generalist v specialist debate rages on into the era of AI. I like to think of myself as a little bit of an aspiring polymath (though definitely not one). There are many definitions and ways to classify polymaths. One of which describes a polymath by a combination of breadth, depth, and integration. A true polymath should have breadth across more than 2 disciplines, depth to the level of mastery or near-mastery in those fields, and the ability to integrate distinct disciplines into something novel. Being interested or mildly active in a few hobbies doesn’t constitute being a “textbook” polymath, but the benefits of behaving like a polymath make it worth exploring.

Polymathy was the norm for the generations of the past. Learning and study were much more comprehensive, focusing on music, arts, mathematics, philosophy, literature, and more until around the mid-late 1800s. In fact, it wasn’t until 1856 that the term specialist was coined. The industrial revolution then contributed to the move to specialization over generalization as more specialized jobs became available. Soon thereafter, in the 20th century, the education systems began to follow this same model, encouraging specialization earlier and earlier.

Anton Chekhov is a great example of a polymath who chose to pursue a traditional career. He studied medicine and made it his profession, but he never stopped working on mastering his other craft of writing. Just because you chose a career and profession, that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice all other pursuits of mastery. Not everyone is destined to become a world-renowned author or even come close to that level of success in their polymath pursuits. Still, behaving and learning more like a polymath will have a tremendous impact on your success.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of pursuing a more diverse set of activities is the benefit it will bring to your core pursuits. Polymaths are also lifelong learners who explore new topics and areas that lead them back to new breakthroughs in their core pursuits. New perspectives, new knowledge, and different experiences can even enrich us to the point of inventing new fields of study to satiate our curiosity. E.O. Wilson is a great example of someone who created a new field by combining biology and sociology to create sociobiology, which he defined as "the extension of population biology and evolutionary theory to social organization".

Very few people on the planet will go on to create new fields of study. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to gain from behaving, thinking, and learning like a polymath. Polymaths use their love of learning and integration to adapt more quickly and learn new skills faster. They also tend to be much better at problem-solving, often coming up with novel solutions from their breadth and depth of knowledge. In the workplace, polymaths tend to stand out because they’re always learning, studying, or exploring something new and sharing that perspective with their peers. Polymaths excel because they have a larger bank of diverse information to pull from.

That’s also largely why education has always followed a more polymathic approach. Learning was about the breadth and depth of knowledge, not the specialization in one specific field. That changed about 150 or so years ago. We don’t have to revert to the old ways of doing things, but we should swing the pendulum back a little bit more toward breadth & depth.

I try not to take too many things to the extreme. I want to be well-versed in many topics and fields both academically and practically. I’ve found that learning new skills has been directly applicable across many facets of my life. I think the biggest benefit lies in the excitement polymathy brings to my curiosity. I find myself more open to new ideas or exploring new fields of study without getting bored reading and thinking about the same thing.

I don’t think we need to always pursue mastery in everything we set out for. We can study, learn, and behave like polymaths every day without the groundbreaking outputs that famous polymaths from history have given us. Learning is something worthwhile.

Until next time,

Rick