In Defense of Polymaths

Polymaths have been called amateurs, dilettantes or even charlatans

We are aware of the stigma that a polymath is a ‘jack of all trades and a master of none’. But there is an older expanded version, ‘A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often better than a master of one’. So many of the great innovations in the arts and sciences arose when outside wisdom was brought to bear on a discipline that had become

... See more

many of society’s most pressing challenges – such as climate change – require highly creative problem-solving that crosses multiple domains, and polymaths may be the best people to find those solutions.

Polymath is the Greek word for a Renaissance person like Leonardo Da Vinci or Ben Franklin who excels in many disciplines. 

When everything is in flux, we need people who can move across worlds. In times of upheaval, grief, anxiety and rising discomfort, polymaths—those who wear many hats, blend skills, and cross disciplines—are essential.They thrive in the spaces between, finding connections others might miss.When things shift beneath us, it’s these transitional thinke... See more

polymaths are often known as generalists, the knowledge of many disciplines is their speciality.

Technologist Vinnie Mirchandani dedicated an entire book to applying the polymath analogy to the twenty-first-century corporation. It is the BPs and the GEs that are the ‘New Polymaths’; multinational companies that excel in multiple technologies and synthesise multiple talent pools from different sectors are today's Leonardos and Ben Franklins, he

... See more