Polymath, a fascinating word for those who never heard of this term.
The simplest definition can be found on vocabulary.com which refers to a person who knows a lot of subjects. They are not only mastering a subject but also mastering other subjects and able to integrate their knowledge into one topic. A polymath can also refer to a renaissance man,a term to refer to someone before, after or during the Renaissance age. One of the most well known Renaissance men is Da vinci. During that time, a fine gentleman would speak several languages, understand science and deal with art. Interestingly, during that era university was meant to forge students to become a polymath instead specialized in a certain subject. These days though universal education is essentially doing the same thing, it looks like it has failed us. Universal education is sure a pathway to become a polymath but it fails to accommodate different types of learners.
The idea of a universal education was essential to achieving polymath ability, hence the word university was used to describe a seat of learning. At this time, universities did not specialize in specific areas, but rather trained students in a broad array of science, philosophy and theologyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath
These days anyone can become a polymath. Education is more accessible and free. However, there are challenges that one must overcome in order to become a polymath, modern distraction.
Personally, I have always been obsessed with becoming a polymath. I wanted to know it all, I wanted to be a genius who’s able to contribute something to the society. I wanted to speak multiple languages, understand the history and civilization while also taking interest in technology.But there’s nothing exceptional about all of these nowadays. Anyone can do that as long as they put in the work.
When I was in my younger years, I had no obligations to do anything and would spend hours studying whichever subjects I fancy and delve into it. I was not in a position to think about money or responsible about anything other than learning something. As I grew up and time changed, I had to support myself and my mother. This was a drastic change in my life. I became more stressed than usual because I had to let go the hours to learn something. I was not learning what is the minimum threshold of becoming comfortable but now I do. Not to mention schooling, especially the university had imposed a time frame for one to graduate. For someone like me, being timed to learn something is nearly impossible. As for example, I have been learning programming since I was in highschool and I am still learning today. I’ve been writing and learning languages my whole life and even today, I am still learning. As of now, trying to finish my thesis, I finally learned my passion and what I truly want to become in the future.
Being a polymath has its own advantages. It’s especially future-proof. One can move from one field to another and is very versatile. That versatility is something I personally seek in life. I think anyone should aspire to become a polymath so it would be much easier to switch from one job to another or pursue our utmost interest instead of slaving away ourselves to a job we hate.
Until then... Signing out