Ideas tagged with polymath

Proposed Definition of Polymathy and Polymathic Orientation

Polymathy is a multidimensional approach to learning and personal development that involves the pursuit, development, and application of knowledge characterized by three dimensions: breadth, depth, and integration. (1) Breadth refers to the diversity between the domains, areas, or subjects in wh...

By Michael Araki

Polymathy or polymathies: A typology proposal

Recent TED talks and books like "Range" and "The Polymath" generated great popular interest in the concept of polymathy. However, polymathy is still ill-defined in academia. Here, I propose a more systematic typology, based on the literature review carried out by Araki (2015; 2018). Polymathy...

By Michael Araki

Clarifying Heraclitus' criticism of polymathy as a bad craft

In fragment XXV (Khan, 1979), Heraclitus writes that polymathy is bad craft (kakotechnie). However, in that extract he is referring to the “pilling up” of learnings without the application of rigor and without good guiding principles. Notwithstanding, cognates of polymath’s termination "-math...

By Michael Araki

Breadth, Depth and Integration: The Three Dimensions of the Polymathy Construct

At the core of the polymathy construct is the person's relationship with knowledge in three dimensions: depth, breadth and integration. Depth refers to expertise and to the cumulative penetration into certain subjects of interest (in which society circumscribes within domains). It entails [kn...

By Michael Araki

Relationships Between Polymathy as a Trait and Neurochemically-Based Individual Differences

Polymathy traditionally means “wide-ranging knowledge”. However, Sriraman(2009) and [Michael Araki](/users/7e5ab981b273ead711a70ba889e65ff0) [Polymathy_](/ideas/8e54bb477f4fe239e7a364af3d219c65) have proposed that polymathy can function as a trait. Based the idea that polymathic people distingui...

By Michael Araki