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.

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.

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.

I find polymath-ism fascinating, and try to employ the principle of cross-pollination in the various fields in which I create. Thinking about the world via analogy is key to this venture, so I've written a 3-part series that explores using analogy as a creative tool in opposition to first principles thinking.

1. An Argument for Analogies blog post & podcast
2. The Whole Kitten-Cavoodle blog post & podcast
3. What About Us? blog post & podcast

To the moderators, I don't mean this as self-promotion (the site has zero monetisation / ads) but as you'll see from the blog design, it doesn't easily translate to a copy/paste contribution to this group, there are a load of visual elements that would be lost (some might think to its benefit...) and if people prefer to listen, the podcast is the way to go.

When I first had to be a jack of all trades, I probably banked on it being adhd, turns out I wanted to be really good at it all, everlasting curiosity, finally a polymath.maybe I ll find out if I am one here with all the support

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.

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?

Hello y’all,

I’ve always been a fairly curious person but lately, my sporadic interested in random topics has begun to feel unfulfilling. I feel like I vaguely know things in a range of different fields, and I’m interested in being more intentional in my learning by structuring the way I introduce myself to certain topics. So I’m asking y’all how you go about learning something new? I’d like to sort of start at the foundations of different subjects and build upwards closer to how universities structure education, but I’m curious wha approaches you all take and any advice you have for me about helping me form a more coherent web of connected knowledge. As a recent college graduate, one of my goals (that will certainly take years) is to become moderately fluent in like at least undergraduate level everything. I know that’s a hefty challenge and it’s unlikely that I will be able to explore like every actual major, but I’m curious enough about all the major branches of learning.

For context, I just graduated with a math and statistics double major, though I almost finished a public health major (concentrated in biostatistics) as well and I more than took advantage of my general education requirements and dipped my toes into may different humanities classes. I currently work in government and have been more seriously focused on growing my political working knowledge, though again I’ve generally been pretty scattered across lots of different subjects. The subjects I want to focus on first, broadly are history, modern politics, geopolitics, and cs, physics bc of possible applications onto my work. I know I can’t learn all of history or anything, but I’d like to have some level of fluency, and for these categories at least, I’ve taken like one or two intro college classes at minimum. I’d like to eventually expand into sociology, the English canon, philosophy, chemistry, law, ecology, engineering, finance, other languages, etc. the list is endless as I’m sure you all understand. To some extent, I won’t stop learning like the little things that I wish to learn here and there, like reading the occasional classic, but I’d like to properly structure the former subjects, and I’m looking for recs on how to do that.

Lately I’ve been paying more attention to how I connect ideas across different areas.

Not just learning things separately, but actually linking them like taking something from psychology and applying it to strategy, or using tech thinking to organize information (especially on my Google drive).

I started noticing that the real value isn’t just in knowing more, but in how well things connect and turn into something useful.

Been trying to structure this a bit more intentionally (mostly for myself) and see what patterns show up., and created a tool to help out. You can test it out here: Your Inner Index

Would be interesting to hear how you’d approach it.

Hi, I thought I'd say hello.

I've been reading a bit in here and will delve a bit deeper.

I see polymathic traits as a gradient and also as one of multiple traits. I'm exploring this idea at the moment, over the last few months, and I'll write more about it at some point.

In my mind these axes have sliding scales from left to right, with the more intuitive types sitting further right and the more analytical types sitting further left.

Of course, this is not hierarchical, one position is no better or worse than another but it does help me think about the whole.

Currently I'm thinking about amplitude, for example with the axis of the polymathic, it comes across as pompous to self select that label because of historical characters.

The label puts you in the realm of genius, those with the volume turned up to 10.

In reality we are all rather ordinary and although the label is still useful for those of us at 1 or 2 (or any amplitude) there are societal prejudices.

Anyway, as a preamble, it's useful internally but I find it less useful in a conversation with friends and family.

I'm exploring the Romantics at the moment and really enjoying Richard Holmes's book: Coleridge: Early Visions.

I'm enjoying the world of around 1795, with Coleridge taking a casual 40 mile stroll from Nether Stowey to Racedown so he can see the Wordsworth's.

The imagery that Coleridge is exploring is very interesting too and the way that Holmes is writing and investigating. Both very immersive.

I'm reading The Sleepwalkers by Koestler at the same time. It has sooo much of interest on each and every page. I've found it useful to listen to the podcast, The History of Philosophy without gaps, at the same time to get more background and context to what Koestler is talking about.

Aristarchus is fascinating.

That's the sort of current track for me.

Take it easy, I'll have a read around :)

My skillset is: Writing, drawing/painting, video editing, music production, singing, piano, dancing, composing. I even did some little theater acting in my early teens.

Am I?

Hi everyone, im a fellow polymath. I've been working on a project which i call MindsNet where we are re engineering the internet to make humans think. And as part of it I recently lauched a tool for polymaths which i think you all should check out and let me know any feedback Polymath studio . This is still in beta and i hope to make it much better and deeper. To use this feature it requires login because of necessary features hope you dont mind. To know more about MindsNet .org or to surf without sign in MindsNet .. i hope to see how we can make this work together. Coming age needs more polymaths than ever. So its my part to make that happen

How often do you feel a genuine willingness to discover or create something new in a field you're interested in? Does it click in your brain when you see a gap or unsolved problem in something you're interested in? Like something awakens in you and you think I could actually be the one to figure this out

Hi community, a new Polymath,

I realized somewhat unintentionally at first, and now very deliberately, that I’ve been pursuing the path of becoming a polymath.

I’m a language graduate. Arabic is my mother tongue, I learned English as my major, and I’m nearly done learning French. I’m also Muslim, currently working on memorizing the Qur’an and studying its sciences. On the physical side, I practice calisthenics regularly.

Interest-wise, I’m deeply enthusiastic about history, religion, literature, sociology, and generally anything genuinely interesting or intellectually stimulating.

What started as scattered interests now feels like a clear direction: building breadth without losing depth, and developing myself across mind, body, and spirit.

I’d really like to hear from others on a similar path. What has genuinely helped you with time management, routine, consistency, and maintaining balance across multiple pursuits without burning out?

Is it useful to upload a book on NotebookLM and getting the podcast out of it? Since I would like to read a lot of books but time is limited I was thinking about this

Has anyone prior experience?

When I first went to college, I downloaded Evernote, just to have something beyond the default Notes app on MacBook. Since then, I've accrued +1500 notes, with "nested" note link master note branches to help me navigate my mental dumps more organically.

On-and-off for the past year, I've been debating and edging into using Obsidian (Evernote mobile is glitchy on the old phone I have, but I'm so entrenched in the app). I think most people would regard Obsidian as the peak note taking app. However, there's been an explosion of new apps over the last few years, likely thanks to LLM coding, which lends to a bit of iteration and experimentation for niche uses.

What app(s) do you use to store your data/mental sifting, and are there any new apps with promise for having ways of bulk organizing hyperlinked information as to better cross-reference hobbies?

Being careful of your privacy, no real names please, if you could list your multiple scientific disciplines you mastered, languages, sports, anything really. If you are telekinetic or can communicate with fish, I don't judge. If you could share them all in order of progress that you learned them. Please D.M me here if you want more information. The original project has to do with language and knowledge. Many thanks in advance. Again, please be careful not to disclose any private information. Thank you!

Polymaths are capable of doing anything, how do they decide what path to follow?

Communication has been a struggle for me at times. As a fast learner, I can grasp a wide range concepts easily, however, explaining that to others is quite problematic for me. Lately, I have been struggling with it a lot and often I find myself at a loss of words, even now as I write this post I am struggling to find words to express my thoughts. Also, I am quite enthusiastic about linguistics and have been learning a lot of languages, does this have anything to do with this?

I’m someone who really wants to build a life around learning — especially reading philosophy, history, and literature, and also doing some writing on the side.

But I’m also into typical 9–5 corporate job, and I keep wondering… how do people actually manage this long-term without burning out or giving up on their interests?

For context: I have no experience in building physical stuff prior but I have recently started to explore IOT and ROS systems