r/Polymath

I think I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of being a polymath, even before I knew the term itself

But I kept running into two problems -among other minor ones-

First, I was always looking for shortcuts, and I’ve realized later that this mindset doesn’t fit this kind of pursuit at all.

Second -and probably the bigger issue- was that I never had proper methodology or guidance, which sometimes made my knowledge feel scattered and inconsistent

Because of that, I decided to focus on one field at a time and follow a more structured approach. Ironically, even finding the “right” structure became an obstacle, and delayed my starting for a longer time.

I still admire the idea of the polymath though. But lately I’ve been wondering if my conclusions were wrong? For example, I’ve started thinking about the idea of “knowledge bites” rather than deep study but I don’t know if that actually leads to real understanding or not.

I guess this post is mostly just me thinking out loud, but I’d like to hear your thoughts 🙏🏻

Note: as requested by the rules, I’ve used AI to improve phrasing at some parts as English is my second language

For example, around a year ago, I developed an interest in physics - something I haven't studied since I was in school almost 40 years ago. Now I'm building entire mathematical and mechanical frameworks from purely conceptual data (side effect of my aphantasia).

What I find is that the deeper I go into a subject, the more connections I discover to literally EVERY subject I have ever learned. In other words, I find it almost impossible to compartmentalize, and so everything I learn ends up as part of the same "continuum".

Does that make sense? And how does it compare to your own experience.

I’d be interested to hear about the fields you are researching as polymaths, and how you managed to get started in interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary research, considering that the academic world is structured so that people spend their entire lives researching things like ‘sensory receptors at the tip of a Bengal tiger’s ear’, you know what I mean, hyperspecialization.

First, you study an undergraduate degree that specializes you in a relatively broad field of knowledge. Then you pursue a master’s degree that specializes you even further within that field, and you end up doing a PhD that may aim to answer a single concrete question on a hyper-specific topic for 3–4 years. So where, exactly, is the opportunity to show the world that you are polymaths?

It’s interesting to either follow the path laid out by the system and move toward hyperspecialization, or from there begin proposing more interdisciplinary ideas, or instead start from the very beginning with an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary perspective?

This post is to help everyone understand what i see in this subreddit, as someone who has been studying polymaths for a very long time.

🟢1️⃣a majority of the users here are Generalists, but lacking synthesis of concepts. 🟡2️⃣ive noticed some polymaths who lack proper communication skills, but are highly capable in multiple fields. 🔴3️⃣very rarely do i see real high tier polymaths attempting to exist here, 99% of this sub doesnt even percieve it tho lmfao. so theyre written off as stupid, strange, or crazy.

im open to discussion, questions, or analysis of my estimated data.

if you wanna be a polymath it is not enough to just collect information you need to understand how to think and connect ideas.

when you study philosophy you start to understand logic you can tell what makes sense and what does not and you become better at spotting fallacies

philosophy also helps you connect different areas like seeing links between science and art or between psychology and decision making.

it also helps you understand how ideas develop and evolve over time how one idea leads to another and how knowledge grows.

I had a roommate who is insanely good at chess, 1900 ish elo rating, top in my semester studying medicine, good a football and works on apps in his free time. I assumed it should be because he had the resources and not just the interest to pursue multiple fields. Turns out he has a hard to please dad who pressures him to be an exceptional genius so that he has bragging rights. So what reasons you guys had to persue multiple fields? Coz I don't think everyone has the same back story and obsession plays part too.

How does a polymath manage information saving, taking notes and creating new things especially of different topics and linking them? I would like to know the workflow as well as apps you all are using.

Firstly, I am greatful I found this group. I had no idea of the concept of polymath. I spent my entire life not exactly clicking with others due to them not understanding me. The conversations I prefer to have seem to be...how do I say... non-serial... I suppose. Many times I have found conversationalist and think... oh wow... someone who gets me, but then I realize I was just taken as they have no actual interest and are more of a generalist type. I have been called a Jack-of-all-trades and summed up as a generalist. However, I found those to be insults as I dove deep into many specialties. I honestly though either I am very rare in a good way or an outcast sorta way.

Have yall talked about how hard it is to find kindship?

But, I am making this post to discuss career. After 12 years as an Electrical Engineer, I can no longer enjoy a thing about it. Honestly, I was over it by year 3. I felt like I had learned as much as I can on many subdisciplines in EE and no longer captured my interest. I turned to machine learning in 2015. Roughly before tensorflow I was building my own neural network libraries in C#. I found myself becoming an profient programmer in C# and C. While persuing my passion for neural networks.

Last year I got my MS in Data Science because I feel like there are so many areas DS can be used from biology to finance. Its honestly for me the best tool for my polymath self. However, I am worried that creating a model to predict cancer or being a quant for a firm will no let me access the depths of the fields I need too. As an EE, I always felt my company only tapped the tip of the iceberg of my potential. I always felt I should be in R&D or something. But, seemed far fetched.

I have recently been considering finding a technical field that takes many years to reach technical specialty in order to give my drive for insatiable learning something to do. So, I thought about becoming an airline pilot, which takes many many years to reach. I also though about pHD in Quantum Machine Learning, but with my background, not sure if I could land a job. Since, I haven't with Data Science yet.

I am now leaning toward becoming a college professor since I would have opportunity to dive deeper into EE and DS concepts and push the work further. However, I almost feel confused.

It all feels like jumbled interests. I love it all. I could learn every bit of it all. There are some things I am not interested in like economics, composition, communications, speaking, but near every other topic or subject is interesting to me. I am even physically inclined and could become a athlete in something. That sounds interesting.

How do we manage our insatiable drive to learn? Its like an addiction. I even recall times during break when I was in college, where I would go to science page of read just to learn something.

I am also realizing that I have a deep understanding of many areas. I literally didn't learn anything during my MS in Data Science, because I had already studied it all and self taught. I actually was disappointed they didn't dig deeper, like much much deeper.

So, fellow polymaths do you get me and what is your career advice?

P.S. I also have a graveyard of projects that I completed, but never marketed because I mastered and accomplished the build and moved on.

Hello polymaths!

I have been (lurking) on this subreddit for some time now and only recently made a post whining about the pseudo-intellectualism that pervades it. I did some thinking and came to the conclusion that I didn't really have the right to do that since I personally hadn't contributed anything to alter the direction of the content here. So, I figured I would make a post explicitly about my pursuits and hence show why polymathy is an important concept to me.

To begin with an introduction, I am currently finishing up a B.S. in Terrestrial Wildlife Biology and a B.A. in Philosophy at my university, with a certificate in Environmental Ethics. I am also an avid musician and enjoy writing music in my spare time. Ultimately, the goal is to get a M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy and eventually teach it, although that is unlikely with the current job climate for the humanities in the US.

Within the field of wildlife biology, I have done independent research on meiofaunal (0.2-1mm large) diversity in oligotrophic (nutrient poor) freshwater streams. My research analyzed how these organisms rely on aquatic bryophytes as nutrient hotspots to survive, and it quantified abundance and diversity of major taxonomic groups (my favorite being tardigrades).

After I completed this research, I decided that microscopic organisms were ultimately not for me and aimed my sights larger. Now I do research analyzing data on the endangered red wolf (Canis rufus) in the southeastern US, and I am currently working alongside a team on a publication that will inform conservation strategies.

While I enjoy my work with wildlife biology and conservation science, it pales next to the love I have for philosophy. Initially, I entered the field because I was intrigued with environmental ethics, but I have now grown more interested in twentieth century existentialism and phenomenology - what I presently would like to study in graduate school.

Within philosophy, I have recently completed an independent study examining Albert Camus' conception of revolt, measure, and solidarity (primarily in his novel "The Rebel"). I produced an extensive paper that, while adhering to his general framework, outlines an exception that requires a different response from what he otherwise advises. This is the proudest accomplishment of my academic career thus far, and I will likely use it as a writing sample for graduate school.

For the foreseeable future, I plan to further develop my red wolf research, interweaving environmental ethics, and finish my manuscript. During which I want to continue with courses and readings that will inform and expand my philosophical knowledge until I am accepted into a desirable M.A. program. Time permitting, I would also like to take music more seriously and produce an album of original songs.

Many people I encounter don't understand my passions for multiple fields, recommending instead that I pick one specialization because "that's how the world works." I don't agree, and that is why polymathy and therefore this community is so important to me - it encourages people not to limit their capabilities.

I hope y'all enjoy this post, and I'm happy to answer any questions about my intellectual pursuits.

Would love to know:

-What you read regularly
-Why you think it’s worth reading
-Which sources helped you think better across disciplines

Could be mainstream or niche. Digital or print.

I collect a lot of knowledge, but wisdom is a point of particular interest for me. I’ve found The Plague by Camus, The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes from the Bible illuminating. Currently working on reading the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.

Is there anybody else here who is also interested in this? Any suggestions for books I should check out?

18f here. It is so difficult to stick to one thing like when I have to do designing, I want to do a lot of other things as well like that feeling is going on all the time idk like I have a lot on my plate to achieve this year and Idk how and till when I will become good at them. Please help me. Should I list out what I should do and make a monthly plan for it, or what should I do idk please help me. It's so overwhelming sometimes.

Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna, is probably one of the best examples in history of a polymath

And honestly, the guy was built different from the start. By the age of ten, he had already memorized the Qur’an, Avicenna was studying philosophy, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, physics, logic, and literature all at once.

What made him special wasn’t just intelligence. A lot of smart people exist. Avicenna had insane curiosity. He wanted to understand literally everything about the world. If he found a difficult problem in philosophy, he wouldn’t sleep until he solved it. Some stories even say he would read the same book dozens of times until the meaning finally clicked.

His biggest fame came from medicine. He wrote a massive medical encyclopedia called The Canon of Medicine, and this book became one of the most important medical references in both the Islamic world and Europe for centuries.

But medicine was only one side of him. Ibn Sina also wrote deeply about philosophy and was heavily influenced by Aristotle. He tried to combine reason, science, and metaphysics into one system. In many ways, he acted like a bridge between ancient Greek philosophy and later medieval thought in both the Muslim world and Europe.

And the crazy part? He wrote more than 400 works during his lifetime. Not just short notes actual books and detailed studies. Some were about astronomy, some about psychology, physics, music, logic, and even poetry. That’s why the word polymath fits him perfectly. He wasn’t simply a doctor who liked philosophy. He was someone who genuinely explored almost every major field of knowledge available in his era.

His life also wasn’t peaceful or academic all the time. He worked for rulers, traveled constantly, got involved in politics, escaped dangerous situations, and sometimes even wrote books while hiding from enemies. So his story isn’t just about a nerd sitting in a library all day. It’s more like the story of a genius trying to survive chaos while still pushing human knowledge forward.

Ibn Sina died in 1037 CE in Hamadan, but his influence never really disappeared. Today, historians still see him as one of the greatest thinkers of the medieval world and one of the clearest examples of a true polymath a person whose mind refused to stay trapped in one discipline.

Not sure who needs to hear it but it really helps me with integrating multiple disciplines and may help with your paralysis.
Less about what field of study should I diligently cram to mastery and more exploring questions and observing how dynamics play out. You’d be seriously surprised to see how many connections you make across so many disciplines without it feeling “forced.”
It also makes learning a lot faster 🙂
Couple that with learning technical skills from practical experience and you have yourself a fantastic feedback loop where you can always stress test ideas against reality to see what holds.

Edit: Also writing, thinking and learning. If you progressively improve those simultaneously they start to blur into one.
Haven’t gone down the neuroscience rabbit hole of it fully but I’ve observed it within myself.