Wonderfully written. Indeed, our desire for a new Renaissance has to originate in ourselves and in looking at our world as a whole, not as just a collection of soundbites and information to be filed away.
The dimension of personal development and intrinsic quality of true knowledge is one that is rarely emphasised today as well, as it leaves virtue of Wisdom untouched - having a piece of information and knowing what to do with it, but also when, is what we have very little of.
The things that are hardest to quantify, like wisdom and virtue, are often the most important qualities. You’re right, these things are deeply underemphasised at the moment, or else reduced to bare minimum standards that can be easily discussed without the challenge of going deeper and cultivating a more profound understanding.
Thank you for this fine essay! "Having an unconventional educational background does not have to be a restriction; it could actually enhance your unique approach"—I have experienced this in my own life. I studied applied math and physics as an undergrad and ended up with a PhD in literature, and I have often noticed how those disparate fields of knowledge combined energetically and fruitfully in my work as a literary scholar.
I love hearing examples like this! It’s such a joy when seemingly separate fields can illuminate each other. I had a professor at university who taught medieval Welsh literature, but who would also draw on physics in some of his work, generating some really fascinating insights.
A very enjoyable essay and I would enthusiastically agree with all of it. The internet is a danger,as you say, but it is also the polymaths most useful tool. For this reason I suspect polymaths as s breed may become more common and not die out after all.
I think there is definitely cause for hope! You could even extend the concept of a polymathic approach to life to feature a plurality of tools as well as a plurality of subjects, and the internet can certainly be a valuable resource if used with wisdom and discernment, resisting shallow distractions. I am very wary of AI though, and choose to never use it, for the reasons I mentioned in my essay. I am intrigued to see what the coming years hold for human intelligence and creativity!
Not sure if you know of Valentin Tomberg, but a lot of what you describe and warn of here has sung a resonance with what he warned of and proposed. If you haven’t yet read anything of his, please look at Meditations on the Tarot. You won’t regret it.
If you check him out, you will find much of the same sentiment about fostering polymathy as what he describes as "Christian Hermeticism"; he describes it as a enzyme that ferments mysticism, gnosis, magic, and philosophy--which I would argue constitutes the full gamut of the Liberal Arts, plus that spiritual dimension you eluded to in invoking monasticism.
Out of context, this is my recent post about polymaths and how the school system failed to ignite spark of curiosity and obsession of knowledge in us and how hyper specialization is a lie! Would love your thoughts on it!!🤞
Wonderfully written. Indeed, our desire for a new Renaissance has to originate in ourselves and in looking at our world as a whole, not as just a collection of soundbites and information to be filed away.
The dimension of personal development and intrinsic quality of true knowledge is one that is rarely emphasised today as well, as it leaves virtue of Wisdom untouched - having a piece of information and knowing what to do with it, but also when, is what we have very little of.
The things that are hardest to quantify, like wisdom and virtue, are often the most important qualities. You’re right, these things are deeply underemphasised at the moment, or else reduced to bare minimum standards that can be easily discussed without the challenge of going deeper and cultivating a more profound understanding.
Thank you for this fine essay! "Having an unconventional educational background does not have to be a restriction; it could actually enhance your unique approach"—I have experienced this in my own life. I studied applied math and physics as an undergrad and ended up with a PhD in literature, and I have often noticed how those disparate fields of knowledge combined energetically and fruitfully in my work as a literary scholar.
I love hearing examples like this! It’s such a joy when seemingly separate fields can illuminate each other. I had a professor at university who taught medieval Welsh literature, but who would also draw on physics in some of his work, generating some really fascinating insights.
A very enjoyable essay and I would enthusiastically agree with all of it. The internet is a danger,as you say, but it is also the polymaths most useful tool. For this reason I suspect polymaths as s breed may become more common and not die out after all.
I think there is definitely cause for hope! You could even extend the concept of a polymathic approach to life to feature a plurality of tools as well as a plurality of subjects, and the internet can certainly be a valuable resource if used with wisdom and discernment, resisting shallow distractions. I am very wary of AI though, and choose to never use it, for the reasons I mentioned in my essay. I am intrigued to see what the coming years hold for human intelligence and creativity!
There's hope...
Me polymath. Me connect dots.
Not sure if you know of Valentin Tomberg, but a lot of what you describe and warn of here has sung a resonance with what he warned of and proposed. If you haven’t yet read anything of his, please look at Meditations on the Tarot. You won’t regret it.
I have not come across Tomberg before!
If you check him out, you will find much of the same sentiment about fostering polymathy as what he describes as "Christian Hermeticism"; he describes it as a enzyme that ferments mysticism, gnosis, magic, and philosophy--which I would argue constitutes the full gamut of the Liberal Arts, plus that spiritual dimension you eluded to in invoking monasticism.
That's was a very informative read! Loved it!🤍🧿
Out of context, this is my recent post about polymaths and how the school system failed to ignite spark of curiosity and obsession of knowledge in us and how hyper specialization is a lie! Would love your thoughts on it!!🤞
https://yashmitabala.substack.com/p/jack-of-all-trades-but-master-of?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=8bumd2