Some of you may be asking, "What the heck is a polymath anyways?"
Or more importantly, why is this blog worth your time...
The below video serves as an introduction of sorts; to the polymathic mindset and why it's so important for poeple now-a-days.
Enjoy.
For those who would rather read, I've placed a modified transcript below:
Hey guys how the going!
Josh here from Polymathics and let me tell you first how excited I am that you're here!
You have no idea what it means to me. I've been putting a lot of effort into getting this thing going. So you know bare with me as the site starts to build up with more content. But my hope is that no matter how small the piece of information is, that you can find something--some tidbit--that you can take back to your real life; and apply it to some sort of problem or project that you working on right now. And get great results.
So, I hope you see value in that.
And the purpose of this video is to serve as an introduction of sorts. So I'm not going to explain to you what all the buttons do. You've been to plenty of web sites before to know how that works.
So what is a Polymath anyways?
Because I'm sure some you guys are asking. Right?
You probably never heard of the word, so why should you care?
So let's get right into it!
The term "Polymath" comes from the Greek, and it's broken down into two root words:
"Poly" meaning many.
And "Math" meaning subject.
So in the Renaissance this would refer to someone who was an expert in several different fields. Leonardo da Vinci is a perfect example of this. You know--The Everyman. Artist, philosopher, scientist, inventor etc… This is not to be confused with a jack of all trades and master of none. No. No. No.
That would have been a common workman.
There's a bit of a difference between your local smithy, and Leonardo Da Vinci. So, the nuance here is that a polymath would have been a jack of all trades master of ***SOME***
And therein lies the true key.
The polymathic mindset; the way that they look at life, and attack problems. So because of their mastery they could look at problems differently? It wouldn't just come at them from one one angle, or from two. They could see it from multiple angles; all at one time. Because of their mastery in different fields, they were able to make connections between seemingly unrelated topics. And because of that, instead of seeing multiple problems, what they really did was identify big problems--as a whole---and where the root of the issue originated. And then they were able to tailor the appropriate solution.
It's this same mindset that allowed humankind to enter into new horizons. A new era of understanding and invention, bringing mankind new heights.
So let's look at the way technology has advanced over the past few decades. Information is coming out at an alarming rate. And the problems that we face today are far more complex than former generations. More convoluted than those that our fathers faced, and more difficult than thos of our grandfathers.
And that calls a different approach.
Ever since the Industrial Revolution (roughly around that time frame) we--the Western culture--have focused on a "specialist mindset".
The age of the monomath.
Sticking to one thing and being good at it. Going to school and aquiring one skill--usually the same one your parents learned. Working for company for years and years and years... And finally retiring and living happily ever after.
But that was the twentieth century. This is the twenty-first. Times have changed!
Well now (as time progressed) we're starting to see that technology is taking care of those more simpler tasks. And what people are really good at, is getting creative solving problems that computers/robots/automation can't. And that's really where I feel as though the pendulum is shifting from the monomath to the polymath.
The purpose of this site is to give you the tools--and more importantly--the mindset on how to become a modern-day polymath.
We see them popping up everywhere nowadays. People who are skilled in several different fields and different subjects. This allows them to come up with solutions; grand solutions to great big juicy problems. And if we (as the human race) intend to ever get off this rock and do anything further, then we need more people like that.
So I hope that this gives you an idea of what a polymath is, and I hope I didn't bore you to tears. = )
I promise I'm not always so serious!
I have Avenger's paraphernalia and x-men stuff. And I'm a huge Video Game Nerd... AND a movie buff. So I'm sure there'll be lots of conversations about that.
Honestly there's a whole mindset that goes along with being a polymath. It seeing the world from a different point of view (ompared to what the normal everyday person would anyway).
And in just by the fact that you're here visiting right now, and stuck through this long introduction, means that there's something inside you; that you're telling yourself this makes sense. So, if you find this interesting, if you want to learn more, please continue stop by.
As I said before, hopeful you you can find just--even that one piece--of information that you can apply to your everyday life or to help with a problem, or some sort of product that you have going on--it will be worth your time.
But anyways... until I see you next time, take it easy!
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