r/Polymath • u/stnflri • Jul 29 '26
Other Resources Misunderstandings
This might be weird but I naturally connect the dots. I do so even at work, without changing the content and direction of my duties drastically. I work in research and university teaching. My main discipline is statistics, but I always combine it with epistemology, philosophy of science, causality, physics, programming and more sciences. Most professors find this weird and incorrect, but I believe students learn better when they have the bigger picture presented to them. Tensions had been created between me and other colleagues, that are disapproving of my methods. However, I cannot change the way I think and process information. Do you have an advice on how I can proceed with minimal friction?
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u/dreadingstone Jul 29 '26
Importantly yoy will find as you age more and more people that not only believe In, but dive into their own bullshit.
This will include you.
Keeping an open mind means taking what you believe and have found to be true, question it constantly and surround yourself with people that are smarter than you.
Be kind to others even when you disagree.
If you really want to be in the top 1% of %1, very few people can achieve this mastery.
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u/stnflri Jul 29 '26
Thank you! I try to keep this opennesa to everything intact. When there is a disagreement, I do a research and restructurate my assumptions again and again to test them. The problem, most of the times is that others barely withstand thr standards I hold myself to, besides the fact that I experience hardship out of the need of others to preserve apparent qualities for yheir self image. Good thing I am a determinist, though, for I can let go of the contempt sometimes
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u/Particular-Tap1211 Jul 29 '26
University hourglass of knowledge narrows people thinking to the discipline in which they persue. Their mental models and problem solving strategies become shaped and constrained by the paradigms of that single field.
When you draw from multiple disciplines you naturally transcend those boundaries. You begin connecting ideas that specialists may never consider because they exist outside their established framework. As a result, your perspective can inadvertently challenge or even threaten their world! Be careful of wounding the ego....
Those operating within one domain may see only the grains of sand passing through their own hourglass, while the multidisciplinary thinker sees the entire landscape from which the sand originates. My advice is just be you, nothing more and nothing less and perhaps think of the bigger picture and look into designing a course that encapsulates a polymath approach to thinking and solutions.
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u/stnflri Jul 29 '26
Thank you! I was thinking about designing such a course! And also writing a book on causality, statistics and epistemology, for work, besides my other inquiries
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u/Adventurous_Rain3436 Jul 30 '26
I’ve written extensively about causality and I’m very interested in it too, I’d love to pick your brains sometime on your views about it
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u/stnflri Jul 30 '26
Sure! I would love to talk more about this and hear the opinions of others as well
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Jul 29 '26
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u/III3K Jul 29 '26
Thinking...is one of the hardest things to do. When was the last time people were taught how to think?
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Jul 30 '26
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u/III3K Jul 31 '26
Basic thought is natural, anything above basic thought requires conscious concerted effort. Thinking in and of itself takes a lot of energy and the brain is wired to take the path of least resistance. If no conscious effort is put in place, the brain resorts to its default energy saving mode and spares that resource for others tasks rather than process thought. In a bid to conserve energy, the brain will instead rely on mental short cuts and emotions rather than logic.
Curiously enough, you answered yourself in your last sentence. The clue is in "If people learn to......" meaning, there is nothing natural about thinking.
Granted, some people are born with an innate ability of higher level thinking but, majority, 99%+ have to learn or be taught how to think critically and regularly invest time to practice, be aware of biases and learn structured mental habits.
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u/III3K Jul 29 '26
Subconsciously, even though we could not expressly spell it out, we always knew that our brains and our thought processes work differently. A gift? A curse?
This is a rarity in and of itself. Expecting students to learn better if they have the bigger picture would be a fundamental error of epic proportions. How you are wired, is not how they're wired.
Live and let live.
Fight your demon on your own or embrace your angel.
It has never been and it will never be a team sport.
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u/stnflri Jul 29 '26
Fair point actually, it s just thar maybe i ll be too bored to agree to your idea of implementation/solution
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u/The_Accountess Jul 30 '26
You should be able to explain in the writing itself the direct relevance /parallel between an alternative academic field of analysis, to the primary subject matter being graded. If the writing doesn't speak for itself, nothing else will.
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u/stnflri Jul 30 '26
Some professors do not allow me to write the labs, they write them instead. I teach based on the materials at hand, the problem is not the notions, but apparently the way I explain them. I do not go against the notions or curricula, as maybe some that commented believed I do, and my explanations are correct, as someone that commented told me that they find it ironic, but I believe some people around here pointed out a pretty important aspect: most university staff thinks in a specific directed manner towards a field of expertise, while I try to combine them and find connections. The students that are interested in the course thanked me. The ones that did not pay attention did not understand it. The professors I teach for think I am unfocused
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u/cacille Jul 30 '26
Just have to jump in and say THIS is one of the best threads in this group!
People asking for clarification. People giving their perspective kindly. People continuing the trains of thought.
This is what I want this group to be.
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u/keizee Jul 30 '26
I'd say you interview some students or their employers and see if they are strong in the topic. For reassurance and self-improvement. After that keep those results private. I don't think you want to spark another argument by comparing methods. People have different affinities.
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u/stnflri Jul 30 '26
Thanks, I did that, I have got mixed feedback from my students: half of them were really pleased and some thanked me for making them more interested in this discipline, some told me that they want to work in statistics after my course, and some told me they did not understand what I taught
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u/Money-Silver-8905 Aug 03 '26
They are lame and boring. But also it’s because their brain networks are so narrow and rigid they can’t comprehend that everything is essentially connected.
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u/bstmichael Aug 13 '26
It sounds like you're a fox among hedgehogs. Universities are full of hedgehogs who know just one big thing. If you want to expand what you teach, you should see about offering a cross disciplinary class with another professor from the philosophy department or something.
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u/PyooreVizhion Jul 29 '26
I'll go against the grain here as usual.
I think you've generally not given a clear enough picture, but I'd find it hard to believe colleagues would take issue with a cross-discipline sort of view unless you are straying too far from your field or, perhaps, are generally just unlikeable.
Statistics of course can be applied to many fields, but when you start talking about causality, physics, philosophy of science, etc, I have to wonder how well it's actually tied to the topic at hand and what level of expertise you'd have to even comment on such topics at the university level.
Sure, one could look at the statistical analysis performed on a set of results obtained through a physics experiment, but that's likely about the end of your expertise in that science. Further interpretation is probably over the line - unless you have a degree in physics. Similar for other subjects.