# Polymath  ## Metadata - Author: [[Peter Hollins]] - Full Title: Polymath - Category: #books ## Highlights - there are now several convincing studies showing a link between a person’s achievements and the number of distinct interests and skills they hold. A 2009 paper by Robert Root-Bernstein explored data from Nobel Laureates in all disciplines and found a strong connection between creativity and being a polymath, thus challenging the idea that specialization is required for success. ([Location 100](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=100)) - creatively integrate those abilities—and ([Location 104](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=104)) - They can blend and cross-pollinate ideas, methods and solutions from all across mankind’s rich tapestry, ([Location 108](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=108)) - As is the case with many polymaths, they almost create their own jobs and roles, using their unique personalities and combination of skills to pursue precisely what interests them—often ([Location 136](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=136)) - If your interests include cooking, psychotherapy, gender studies, and business, why not experiment with an all-male “cooking therapy” group where older men can form beneficial connections with one another while they learn to cook for themselves after a divorce? ([Location 140](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=140)) - Part of a polymath’s invaluable skillset is knowing how to quickly find and synthesize the highest quality information. ([Location 152](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=152)) - Think climate change, wealth inequality on a global scale, political instability, or the threat of complex novel diseases. Being complicated and impossibly large, problems like these will need an integrated approach. The challenges facing humanity right now cannot be solved by specialists. They can, however, be tackled by polymaths who understand how to skillfully bring together the best from each specialist, to make a solution as nuanced and complex as the problem itself. ([Location 177](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=177)) - knowledge. Your goal as a polymath is to become a generalist, i.e. the person who can talk about any topic with anyone, because they are able to bridge gaps, draw connections and learn. ([Location 189](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=189)) - But you can go further. Essentially, as a polymath, you want to diversify and reap the benefits of specialization and diversification. ([Location 195](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=195)) - Polymaths find themselves in their position because of their natural intellectual curiosity. ([Location 199](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=199)) - Einstellung effect was ([Location 277](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=277)) [[Einstellung effect]] - prior knowledge can act as a preconceived solution that can actively block a better option from being discovered. ([Location 283](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=283)) - Note: preexisting knowledge and experience can be a bad thing. Just thinking of the cases we worked before, each patient is unique and not the same. The same interventions may not work. - about versatility, flexibility, and openness. ([Location 340](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=340)) - polymath achieves success with seemingly lightning speed and without following any of the rules. This is because their approach is not bound and limited by preconceptions, old models, possibly outdated beliefs and “business as usual” thinking. ([Location 351](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=351)) - Firstly, a lesson any polymath can teach us is a healthy disregard for rules. ([Location 364](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=364)) - polymaths think of themselves in the same way they think of the various subjects they readily engage with—without the restriction and burden of boxes and oversimplified labels. ([Location 380](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=380)) - Note: Not to limit myself with labels, judgement. Be free flow, and open to experience and possibilities. Same as my self, and so it is with the issues i face. There is no ONE way of solving or looking or explaining anything - The trouble with all this rampant labeling is that it closes you off to genuine, authentic, spontaneous engagement with life as it is, ([Location 387](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=387)) - Polymaths, by setting these limitations far less often, allow themselves greater access to new realms. ([Location 391](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=391)) - our concept of ourselves informs the experiences and knowledge we are willing to expose ourselves to. ([Location 395](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=395)) - Note: Reminded me of the Law of Attraction ideas.. what we think and feel, attracts the likes. - By being fluid and taking nothing for granted—not even the identity of the person who could take anything for granted—a polymath stays fresh and open to change, to new opportunities. ([Location 404](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=404)) - it’s not about who they are, but what they do, what they know, and what they can learn. ([Location 414](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=414)) - don’t just assume something, test it out for real. ([Location 424](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=424)) - Waiting for the perfect time or perfect opportunity often means you never act or learn anything new—but if you just try something, test it out or give it a spin even though it’s not perfect yet, you’ll advance more than if you’d dawdled and procrastinated. ([Location 430](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=430)) - When you frame your personal development, challenges or goals as experiments, you take the pressure off while simultaneously getting you acting sooner. ([Location 436](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=436)) - **[[One of the solution focused concept is experimentation, to find solutions to solve a problem]].** - you can carry out informal experiments all the time, on your own terms. ([Location 444](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=444)) - Take up a new hobby or habit for thirty days. Eat something new even if you have a suspicion you won’t like it. Say “yes” even though you’re a bit apprehensive. ([Location 446](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=446)) - Kicking yourself out of mundane day-to-day life and ordinary ruts and habits with experiments means opening a little window wide enough to ask, What if I did something different? ([Location 448](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=448)) - Seeing tangible results to a mini experiment gives you a sense of agency over your world. You can ask questions, get answers and feedback, and ask better questions next time round. In other words, you can grow and learn. ([Location 451](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=451)) - Like creativity, curiosity cannot thrive in a hostile or risky atmosphere. If you perceive threat, your mind is likely to dwell on an attitude of conservative survival rather than expansive exploring and generous creativity. If you want to follow the polymath example, make room in your life to play, to explore, to ask questions—without judgment from an inner critic or fears that you have to be perfect or else. ([Location 456](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=456)) - Instead of thinking that failure is humiliating, ([Location 461](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=461)) - frame it as a necessary part of learning and growing. ([Location 462](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=462)) - The experimental mindset, above all else, is the commitment to forever being in experiment: you try something, you see the results, you adjust, you try again. Repeat until the day you die. ([Location 463](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=463)) - Tags: [[orange]] - What many polymaths do without being taught is focus on “process, not outcomes.” ([Location 467](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=467)) - learning and evolving becomes second nature. You do it for fun! Focus on the process, and you almost aren’t bothered by the outcome—even if it is considered a “failure.” ([Location 470](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=470)) - considering yourself a novice or amateur ([Location 475](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=475)) - Note: Have a beginner's mind - A true expert never stops wanting to fill in those gaps. The expert and the beginner therefore share an openness to new knowledge and insight. ([Location 485](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=485)) - Release all of your preconceived notions or expectations about the experience. Treat it with curiosity and a sense of wonder, as if you were seeing it for the first time. ([Location 491](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=491)) - Those are the underpinnings of the beginner mindset. When you reprogram your mind to a blank slate and act as if you truly have no knowledge about something, you’ll engage in extensive, curious questioning, and knowledge will come far easier than in acting like you already have the answers. ([Location 507](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=507)) - Note: Zen Mind, Beginner's mind. That is the difficulty and challenge - When you feel comfortable asking dumb questions, nothing is left up to assumptions and chance, and everything is out in the open and clarified. ([Location 513](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=513)) - the beginner’s mindset requires slowing down, setting aside preconceived notions, and paying attention to what you’ve ignored for a long time. ([Location 521](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=521)) - [[Beliefs are powerful.]] - Such is the power of belief. People have preconceptions about what is possible and what is out of their reach. But most of the time, these ideas simply limit them. They allow themselves to be disenfranchised by what they perceive to be possible or not, what they perceive they are capable of or not, and what they believe they can and can’t be. ([Location 557](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=557)) - They believe that obstacles can be overcome, and that they can persevere no matter how tough those barriers are. They believe that failure and struggle are pitstops along the way. ([Location 570](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=570)) - we will have to push beyond what we like, enjoy, and feel comfortable with. ([Location 575](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=575)) - We all want to grow and achieve, but the state of growth is inherently an uncomfortable one. ([Location 581](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=581)) - And sometimes, change requires pain, as the old dies and the new is still small and uncertain. ([Location 583](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=583)) - Tags: [[orange]] - There is a great paradox in learning to not just tolerate but embrace discomfort. Practicing being uncomfortable doesn’t sound like much fun, and it isn’t. But it is a skill that will reap far more rewards in the long term than merely chasing fleeting pleasures or shifting fancies in each moment. ([Location 588](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=588)) - if there’s one thing we know with utmost certainty, it’s that things will change around us, we will have to endure suffering at one point or another, and we will be uncomfortable and forced to face things we wish we didn’t have to. If we have this knowledge, isn’t it better to be prepared rather than blindly pursue a dazzling goal with no thought to what you’ll do when that goal doesn’t go how you planned? ([Location 600](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=600)) - Note: Stoicism, Marcus Arelious about preparing uncomfortable momnents - challenges. This is an attitude of empowerment. It’s looking at life’s challenges head-on and deciding to accept them and respond with dignity and grit. ([Location 608](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=608)) ^14b756 - Note: Practice stoicism - get more uncomfortable than you’d usually be. ([Location 618](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=618)) - These modules must be based on the essentials you need to learn about to get a grasp on your chosen topic. ([Location 823](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=823)) - In this step, our primary goal is to prune our collection of resources to preserve only the best and avoid being overwhelmed by all the materials we’ve collected. ([Location 829](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=829)) - The goal here is to have a core set of resources. ([Location 851](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=851)) - this is the point where you need to ponder what exactly you want to learn about and then form some hypotheses about how those concepts or processes manifest themselves, and the best way you can start learning them. ([Location 902](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=902)) - It cannot be emphasized enough that these questions need to arise organically from a process of experimentation and playing around. ([Location 940](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=940)) - You leverage the good-to-high skills and traits that you have and combine them in a way to give yourself an advantage over everyone else. ([Location 1251](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=1251))