# Polymath  ## Metadata - Author: [[Peter Hollins]] - Full Title: Polymath - Category: #books ## Highlights - he’s a “polymath.” ([Location 74](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=74)) - Other famous polymaths are also people you know by name and reputation—Leonardo da Vinci, Rene Descartes, Elon Musk, Plato, Isaac Newton, Galileo, Michelangelo, Archimedes, and so on. ([Location 79](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=79)) - autodidact (someone who “teaches themselves”). ([Location 83](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=83)) - link between a person’s achievements and the number of distinct interests and skills they hold. ([Location 100](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=100)) - skillful at learning itself. ([Location 107](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=107)) - polymaths—they appear to make deep breakthroughs without putting in the hours. ([Location 115](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=115)) - we’ll not only consider all the ways that human beings are naturally polymaths, ([Location 147](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=147)) - skill stacking ([Location 153](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=153)) - The challenges facing humanity right now cannot be solved by specialists. ([Location 180](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=180)) - bridge gaps, draw connections and learn. ([Location 190](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=190)) - Seek mastery in a physical art (say, running or dancing), an intellectual one (for example, your main occupational skill) and a social or relational one (you could take a counseling course, volunteer or participate in a local political cause). ([Location 218](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=218)) - What if honing specialist knowledge and skill could actually act against you in some ways? ([Location 264](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=264)) - trap you in a prison of your own knowledge. ([Location 267](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=267)) - Experts may cling to a classic and obvious solution so tightly that they fail to see the better alternative staring them in the face. ([Location 275](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=275)) - 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)) - The more polymathic you can be, the more functions you can inhabit, and the less replaceable you will become. ([Location 295](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=295)) - the underlying attitude that allows them to work as they do. ([Location 297](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=297)) - importance of gaining diversity of knowledge cannot be overstated. ([Location 309](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=309)) - successful polymaths are primarily driven by insatiable curiosity, ([Location 325](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=325)) - mimicking others leaves you failing to capitalize on your own unique talents and perspective. ([Location 336](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=336)) - 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)) - abiding comfort with uncertainty. ([Location 370](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=370)) - Polymaths fail often, and sometimes extravagantly. ([Location 374](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=374)) - Finally, 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)) - The trouble with all this rampant labeling is that it closes you off to genuine, authentic, spontaneous engagement with life as it is, rather than life as someone-who-is-like-you sees it. ([Location 387](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=387)) - 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)) - tell yourself often enough that you are a particular type of person, and you’ll eventually take enough actions to support that claim that it will essentially be true. ([Location 396](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=396)) - a polymath stays fresh and open to change, to new opportunities. ([Location 405](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=405)) - 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)) - Instead of thinking that failure is humiliating, or proof that you’re doing something wrong or even worse, that you’re wrong, frame it as a necessary part of learning and growing. ([Location 461](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=461)) - Repeat until the day you die. ([Location 464](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=464)) - think experimentally ([Location 469](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=469)) - The mindset of a beginner—even ([Location 474](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=474)) - the polymath beginner’s mindset empowers the ability to ask dumb questions. ([Location 510](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=510)) - Without belief, you are putting an arbitrary limit on yourself. ([Location 560](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=560)) - Polymaths believe they can become experts, ([Location 568](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=568)) - in order to become true polymaths, we will have to push beyond what we like, enjoy, and feel comfortable with. ([Location 574](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=574)) - Self-discipline is not required for the easy parts of life. ([Location 584](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=584)) - Practicing tolerance is a “vaccine” in that you inoculate yourself against future discomfort in general. ([Location 610](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=610)) - first ([Location 641](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=641)) - Second, ([Location 645](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=645)) - Third, ([Location 648](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=648)) - Finally, ([Location 656](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=656)) - (1) The Broad Overview, (2) Narrowing the Scope, (3) Defining Success, and (4) Compiling Resources. ([Location 674](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=674)) - Skill stacking ([Location 1225](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=1225)) - polymath role models all seemed to possess talents in both arts and sciences. ([Location 1362](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=1362)) - Polymaths strive for new and unique achievements: ([Location 1612](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B087BNHHHC&location=1612))