There have never been more polymaths on the planet than right now, and I compliment you on wanting to become one yourself. Polymathy is the epitome of intellectual versatility, not for showing off, but for the sheer pleasure of enjoying mental dexterity across multiple disciplines. You might think of figures like Leonardo da Vinci – and I'm calling him Leonardo da Vinci because that's the name everybody knows him by, but just so you know, going forward I'll call him Leonardo because Da Vinci was actually an indicator of birthplace, not the family name, a common misconception. He was incredible at biology, science, astronomy, art – so many different things. But what was his real secret? And how can we learn from him?
If you think about it, if Leonardo had only chosen to be a painter, without curiosity for science or anatomy or engineering, we wouldn't have his helical aircrew sketch, the groundwork for the modern helicopter. His exploration of the human body, leading to pioneering insights into the circulatory system and the detailed structure of muscles and bones, would never have been done by him. The Vitruvian Man, that iconic fusion of art and science, wouldn't exist. His early tank designs and visionary concepts like concentrated solar power wouldn't have been discovered. He was really the ultimate renaissance man, and 500 years later, he still inspires.
Understanding the Polymath Approach
Leonardo's genius shows why expanding our perspective unlocks incredible creativity. Most peers way back when Leonardo was an artist focused on painting, very comparable to our society where everybody focuses on one thing. Most other artists then focused on painting every single day. This was not how Leonardo operated. His interests were like a messy spiderweb, spanning art, anatomy, flight, botany, geology, engineering – everything. He just followed his curiosity every single day. At his core was this insatiable hunger to understand the world and push boundaries.
He didn't just paint the Mona Lisa and call it a day; he crossed disciplines like a mad scientist. He mixed optics, biology, and art to pioneer new techniques with light and perspective. He studied bird flight to inspire his flying machines. Like you and me, he lived in a world of intense specialization. Everybody niches down, focuses on one thing. It works to a degree, but Leonardo knew creativity compounds when different worlds collide. We're so focused by traditional education, by our parents, by whatever we think is right, to really narrow down on a niche. Specializations in school, in careers – we're told to specialize because how else do you get ahead, right? But Leonardo's cross-pollinating method shows another way.
Combinatorial Creativity: The Source of Breakthroughs
Innovation thrives in this serendipitous collision of ideas. When we silo our knowledge, we choke out innovation. Big breakthroughs usually come from combining existing ideas from different fields. This is what Leonardo did. This is what polymaths do. It’s what creativity scholars call combinatorial creativity. Intuitively, Leonardo was brilliant at synthesizing insights across disciplines. He wove together anatomy and art, blended optics with painting, crossed his artistic training with engineering for inventions like calculators and helicopters. Unlike artists with laser focus, he let his mind wander across fields, collecting dots others missed, forming new creative constellations.
Innovation scholars say these unlikely collisions between diverse concepts and skills are key to massive creative leaps – those "Eureka!" moments we often associate with innate gifts. The truth is far more interesting. As the astrophysicist Adam Frank wrote, insights often come from the combination of multiple ideas molded together in just the right way. The mixing of ideas from different disciplines is exactly what generates new insight. Leonardo just kept making these leaps intuitively, but we can actually cultivate this ability systematically. It’s how we program our brain to think.
Learning from Polymaths Across History
Leonardo wasn't the only one dissolving boundaries. Johannes Kepler, an astronomer, crossed physics and optics to revolutionize understanding planetary motion. Benjamin Franklin brought an inventor's curiosity to politics, physics, and more, experimenting with electricity, inventing the lightning rod, and helping draft the Declaration of Independence. Buckminster Fuller combined engineering and architectural design for the geodesic dome. Maria Gaetana Agnesi mastered higher math and classical languages. Marie Curie drew insights from side hobbies like playing the piano to make creative leaps in physics and chemistry research.
Each of these great minds stepped outside their core expertise to gather a mosaic of pieces, forming new creative wholes. Their interdisciplinary creativity illuminates the path forward. Polymathy isn't just a Renaissance phenomenon; it's appeared in ancient India, ancient China, all over the world. People have mastered multiple topics, expanded their linguistic intelligence, and rapidly learned new skills as long as there have been humans. So, why not you?
Cultivating Your Inner Polymath
Ultimately, it's about how you behave. People become polymaths by following procedures, not willy-nilly. Key behaviors include being involved – taking action is a huge part of being successful as a learner.
Amp Up Intellectual Curiosity
Some say curiosity has to be natural. I disagree. You can learn to put the brakes on arrogance and get curious. Call it manufactured curiosity if you like, but it helps. Explore different topics, understand and exercise the subconscious mind stopping you from being curious. Boost your interest even in boring topics. Stop yourself and say, "Yes, I'm interested," or "Tell me more." Reread things you think you know. The more you think you know, the more unexcited you feel, the more you're probably missing rich details. Stimulate and sometimes simulate intellectual curiosity even with quotidian information. Assume you probably don't know it as much as you think, and that itself should get you curious about what you might be missing.
Make Learning a Lifestyle
There's always a place for relaxation, but polymaths tend to limit time on mere pastimes. They make learning integral to daily life. Manage your time; journaling helps. Do a brain dump, figure out high-order priorities. Create semesters for yourself: "I am going to learn this topic for three months, maybe six or nine." Take deep dives. Fit it into your lifestyle. Interleaving is a powerful technique here – skipping between different topics helps your brain percolate. Read hard books, then listen to audio on a different topic. It avoids topic exhaustion and aids memory formation.
Develop T-Shaped Thinking
Leonardo connected insights intuitively, but how do we cultivate cross-disciplinary skills intentionally? This is where t-shaped thinking comes in. It's becoming popular when hiring. The vertical line of the T represents depth in one field; the horizontal symbolizes synthesizing knowledge across different fields. You need this generalist plus specialist ability. Tie those dots together to become a specialist in multiple verticals.
Practice Critical and Combinatorial Thinking
Explore different types of thinking: abstract, concrete, independent. Read critical thinking books. Practice multiple forms. A technique like the memory wheel isn't just for memory; use it for combinatorial thinking. Build a wheel of critical thinkers. What would Michael Shermer think? What would Richard Dawkins' response be? Find a contrary view, maybe Rupert Sheldrake. You don't have to agree, but think through their angles. Understand multiple categories of thought. Don't dismiss; think through it. Even if you disagree, you know what it is, you can compare conclusions, understand your own biases (like primacy effect and implicit memory), and avoid dogmatism.
Engage Deeply, Not Superficially
Information being easily available online doesn't mean you can skim. Engage substantively. Know thyself: if digital books don't serve you, use physical libraries. Engage with the community. Librarians are incredibly useful allies. Physical books often lead to deeper learning for many people, despite the inconvenience.
Practical Strategies for Polymathic Thinking
Here are habits to incorporate into your life to think like a polymath, a combinatorial creative, a t-shaped individual:
- Make learning across diverse fields a lifelong endeavor. Let curiosity guide you beyond formal education.
- Look for underlying universal patterns and principles across disciplines – commonalities in design thinking, systems, cycles, storytelling.
- Learn by doing alongside studying. Take up hobbies very different from your day job. Piano, for instance, can teach useful skills beyond reading books.
- Observe how systems work across different fields: nature, business, society, technology. See patterns.
- Have open-ended conversations with modern polymaths. Upgrade your network. Surround yourself with people who think across disciplines, notice trends, draw analogies. Ask how they avoid information silos.
- Turn personal interests into useful data points. Let passions like painting, music, or studying nature inform your perspective on everything – communication, money, politics, life meaning. Learn through osmosis.
- Maintain mental flexibility. Dive into details, but also zoom out for the big picture view.
- Host or listen to debates/discussions across different worlds. Get thoughts colliding, expand your knowledge network, bring in new perspectives and mental models.
- Maintain an anti-library of books on unfamiliar topics to browse. Notice how smart leaders often cite books outside their core competency.
- Set time aside to connect with people, talk through ideas, brainstorm, think tank, mastermind.
- If running a business, have different teams exchange progress, insights, ideas to foster a combinatorial mindset.
- Go to conferences in different industries for fresh perspectives.
- Consume news and content from diverse thinkers, leaders in different fields, people with different points of view.
- Use lateral thinking techniques for problem-solving without constraints.
- Sketch concept maps showing how ideas relate across domains.
Embrace Interconnectedness and Collaboration
Organize study groups, meet in real life. Interact on forums, join live tutorials via Zoom, watch replays. Don't let questions go unanswered; seek connection, communicate. The more learners you connect with, the more angles you get. That word 'autodidact' (having taught yourself) has to go. Engage with experts. An expert knows a lot but also knows their limitations and that knowledge is collaborative, even if it's just reading books from the past. Focus on the future too: build your community.
Consider Multitasking Strategically
Multitasking gets a bad name, but there are exceptions. Listening to podcasts while playing simple games can allow mental rest while keeping learning goals central. Memorizing names in a room involves multitasking – taking in new info, using recall rehearsal, managing small talk. Reading can spark ideas for other projects – another form of multitasking. Cognitive switching and task switching can be practiced. Strengthening your ability to switch between tasks might actually strengthen your brain. Harry Khane's 'Multiple Mentality' course explored this.
Learn in Public and Experiment
David Parrel talks about learning in public. Start a blog, a podcast. Share your journey. It involves technical learning (audio, video, writing, performance) but you do it publicly, get feedback. Charitable feedback is useful; sometimes uncharitable feedback is too. It helps you build multiple skills. Experimentation is key. Put ideas into action. Test things. Mistakes and unexpected results are opportunities for analysis, rational thinking. Experimentation reveals luminous details, new areas of expertise. Add these to your polymath profile. Do it with an audience; they will help.
Practice Deliberately
Deliberate practice is crucial. It can't be random or just conceptual; it needs documentation. In music or language learning, if you get stuck on a passage or pronunciation, loop that specific part. Then add the next part and loop. Add the part before and loop. Then loop all three. Then go back to the beginning. Apply this to philosophy too. If you don't understand 'pure immanence', read one book, then another, find its earlier name, read an earlier book. Work with all three to grasp the concept holographically. It's balance, depth, and breadth.
Leverage Memory Techniques
Memory is the most massive lever you'll ever find. Learn key techniques: the Memory Palace system (ideally a network), the Major System (00-99 PAO), mind mapping for specific outcomes, proper spaced repetition. These optimize learning faster and remembering more. Spend a weekend getting the bird's eye view, then it's deliberate practice with mnemonic devices.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
The polymath, combinatorial, t-shaped mindset keeps you agile as the world changes. The Winds of Change are blowing. We are truly entering a new Renaissance, fusing tech's exponential rise with humanity's ancient creative spirit. AI, gene editing, quantum science – these wild frontiers are happening. We're no longer constrained by what's merely possible; the impossible is possible.
Breaking free of over-specialization means swimming against the tide, against how we were raised. But it's worth it. In the future, combinatorial thinking will be more of a need-to-have than a nice-to-have. This is also how we fight back against AI. As more minds expand, mental walls will crumble. We will have another Renaissance. Like Leonardo, people will connect arts and sciences, blur cognitive boundaries, let new ideas flourish. Great collaboration awaits if we break free of siloed thinking.
Leonardo showed us how knowledge across disciplines amplifies creativity. Connecting different domains breeds revelation. His genius drew from exploring broadly. Let's do the same. Expand our perspectives. Maybe you don't want to build your own university, but symbolically, that's what being a polymath is about. University has 'universe' in it. We all want to be architects in the universe of our mind. Put these strategies into action. Polymathy is the path.
