Why Being a Polymath is Good for You?
Knowledge is divine. Doesn’t matter if you are a Jack of all or the Master of one!
The word “polymath” is unrelated and has nothing to do with having multiple masters in Mathematics. Suppose, if what you just read was true, I assume you would’ve closed my blog the next moment and might bash me for messing up with the rest of your day.
So, What’s the Deal with the Word Polymath?
A polymath is a person who possesses knowledge of different subject areas. Again, don’t stress yourself because a polymath doesn’t pay for additional knowledge or takes extra classes in the evening just to become a polymath. The concept behind polymath is to self-learn different subjects from authentic sources with unwavering interest. Talking about today, it’s pretty easy to become a polymath because of the availability of a plethora of resources related to numerous courses, with no additional cost.
For example, you never scored any grade in Chemistry but A+. You beat your competitors in the intra-college political debate competition every year. Your wall art is auctioned for good money. And your writing skills made you one of the best publication executives in the trending news channel. Congratulation! You are a polymath.
But here comes the contrary part:
The Jack of all is the Master of none!
You heard that before, right? In case you didn’t, then let me tell you that if you take excerpts of various kinds of knowledge, you can never have a deep understanding of any of those kinds. Similarly, if you complete a doctorate in one field, it’s quite impossible to learn new concepts from different fields. I know there are exceptional cases, and if you are one of them, do contact me.
Now, is being a polymath good? Or being a polymath can cost you in the future?
I personally believe that being a polymath is better. Better than being the Master of one field! There are, of course, numerous reasons that support my belief. But first, let’s talk about how being a polymath can make you suffer.
The Teaching Ability
A polymath is the jack of all. That means that the broader site of multiple knowledge areas would be a piece of cake. But when it comes to confronting the depth of a subject, a polymath will fail miserably. Such erudition will be of no use then. And this is one of the biggest obstacles in our education department.
A teacher, especially of primary level, has no in-depth knowledge of a subject. The teacher might be a gold-medalist, but the young brains sitting on the benches need the teacher to lower his/her intellect and level with theirs. Only then the delivery of knowledge would become fruitful.
That’s why the primary level students must have PhD level teachers because they have a deep understanding of the particular course. Only then the students with untouched brains will easily grasp new concepts.
The Research Department
On the second note, a polymath can’t enter into the core research department. Although he/she possesses multiple subjects’ knowledge, the deep know-how of that course is nowhere to be seen. This lack of root knowledge hinders a polymath from working towards a new discovery or research.
The research departments hunt doctorates of the specific field. As a PhD degree is the least requirement to enter such areas, a polymath seldom enrols in a doctorate program. That’s why a jack of all is no fit in the research zone.
These 2 are the areas in which a polymath can never succeed. If you want to become a teacher or if you see your future in the research department, then being the Master of one would be sufficient.
But you see, what’s the point to ponder here. From my point of view, only a teacher or a research-type person requires being the Master of one. Out of these 2 professions, you can be a polymath if you have interest in multiple fields and build your empire. The anchors that are put in the establishment of any empire don’t include only money but shrewd vision, wisdom, versatile mindset, diverse cognition, and powerful communication. All these traits are acquired on the road to polymath.
If you are worrying now about the decisions you have made so far, then kindly go easy on yourself. It’s never too late.
No matter if you are a polymath or not, whatever you are doing, I recommend you keep doing that. If any of your life goals include being the Master of one, go for it. It’s because you mentally prepared yourself for it. But if you are vague yet, I advise you to start learning different areas of knowledge.
Being a human, it’s easy to grasp what’s new to learn rather than relearn what’s been already learnt.
What Being a Polymath Would Give You?
Let’s find that out together.
· Being a polymath, you become an all-rounder. This means you get eyes that can see 360˚
· Your versatility stands firm against the challenging odds
· You may not be able to give answers to everything, but your discernment is able to control the situation above and beyond
· Your strong problem-solving skills pave the way in the right direction
· Your decision-making ability in various situations becomes sound
· Your competency drips from your astute capability of dealing with different situations
· Being a polymath broadens your mind. You listen, interpret, and speak better
· You can easily make a line between good and better and bad and worse
· Your risk-taking ability becomes productive
· You can easily build an empire that looked impossible to establish a few years ago
· Your wit becomes stronger than ever, and you become more mature than your social circle
Once you take the high road towards becoming a polymath, your perspective towards life will widen. The observation towards normal entities will become clearer, and your maturity will allow you to analyse the situation pretty easily than the rest of the audience.
