Introduction
I recently watched the following YouTube video by PsychToons titled Psychology of Polymaths: Why Having Multiple Interests Is an Unfair Advantage and it got me thinking about what it means to have diverse interests and how one can properly leverage a curious mind. We start by summarizing the definition of a polymath provided on Wikipedia.
A polymath is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems.
Notable examples of the polymath architype include include Sir Christopher Wren (architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist), Leonardo Davinci (painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, sculptor) and Benjamin Franklin (writer, philosopher, politician, scientist). Each individual was highly successful in multiple fields spanning both the sciences and the arts.
Lacking Focus
The video starts by outlining an all too real experience for people with broad and changing interests: late nights reading into topics unrelated to their work, unfinished projects, unfocussed application, and a resounding feeling of frustration at ones own lack of focus or progress. Modern society seems increasingly oriented towards hyper-specialization, whether it be starting training for atheletic greatness at a young age, selecting your chosen career specialization in high school, or playing instruments at increasingly younger ages. Wherever you look you seem to see somebody younger and more driven achieving your goals sooner than you, and this game of comparing and constrasting serves only as a constant drain on motivation. Why can’t I have started training sooner? Why didn’t I learn to play the piano at 4 years old. I wish I could have earned a Ph.D. at the ripe old age of 13 (Dr Karl Witte achieved this rather astonishing feat in 1814).
The folly of comparison and it’s inevitable path to envy and jealousy
Secret Advantage
Whilst it is true that society in general seems to reward early specialization, that is not the end of the story.