Learning Skills for Becoming a 21st Century Renaissance Person
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This is a two hour talk on “Renaissance thinking”.
It is intended to be vocational rather than purely analytical.
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Even as we look at the past, our focus remains oriented on the lessons that can be
learned and the connections to our own lives.
The main topics span the disciplines of psychology, cognitive science,
education, history, sociology, and philosophy.
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Psychology: Why are some more amenable to specialization than others? How does
this fit in with common theories of personal development?
Cognitive Science: How do we learn and reason?
Education: How does polymath training differ from specialist training? How can we
“modernize” it? Is polymathy innate, or can it be learned?
History: What did historical polymaths value? How did they live?
Sociology: How did polymaths fit into the contexts of their times and societies? How
were they received? How have they shaped, and been shaped by, their social norms?
Philosophy: Why become a polymath? What makes polymathy worthwhile?
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Mission: To start a university that trains polymaths (“renaissance
people”).
 Resulting in more polymaths than ever existed in history: “Thousands of
da Vincis”.
 Ultimate goal: new polymaths provoke a profound acceleration of
progress in the arts and sciences (“Second Renaissance”).
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501(c)(3) nonprofit based in NJ.
 Please consider making a tax-deductible donation.
▪ We need your support to continue offering these courses and lectures.
▪ Our effort and cost behind the scenes is tremendous.
 These courses directly build the curriculum of our university.
▪ We wish to continue offering existing courses while bootstrapping new ones.
▪ As we offer more, we will begin structuring degree programs around them.
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Taught by each of the trustees in select
locations; online by Michael Barnathan.
 Adjunct Professor of Computer Science,
Monmouth University, 2008 - Present.
 Founder of The Polymath Foundation.
 Ph. D., Computer and Information Sciences
from Temple University, 2009 (expected).
 Master of Science, Computer and
Information Sciences from Temple University,
2007.
 Bachelor of Science, Computer Science (math
minor) from Monmouth University, 2006.
michael@projectpolymath.org
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Dictionary.com: “n. A person of great learning in several fields of study.”
Also called “Renaissance Men/Women”.
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The ideals held during the Renaissance promoted breadth of proficiency, from academia to athletics.
Renaissance Humanism emphasized the magnitude of human potential and the freedom to pursue it. It argues that
humanity’s position on the Great Chain of Being is fluid, and that one’s goal is to transcend one’s limitations.
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No special connection with mathematics, despite the common root word.
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Misconceptions:
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Myth: Polymaths must know everything.
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Fact: Polymaths simply have multiple areas of proficiency. Even two areas will satisfy the etymology.
The proper term for someone who knows “everything” is “pantomath”.
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Fact: Polymaths can and often do have specializations and talents above their considerable general proficiency.
Da Vinci is known primarily as an artist, Leibniz as a mathematician, Goethe as a poet, Jefferson as a statesman…
Historical polymaths tend to have additional proficiency in skills that allow them to convey and represent their thoughts
(writing, art, music, invention…) – without this proficiency, they could not have made their ideas known.
Myth: Polymaths cannot specialize.
Myth: “Jacks of all trades, masters of none…”
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Myth: Modern polymathy is impossible.
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Fact: Though modern polymaths differ from polymaths in the past, many still exist. For example, Isaac Asimov, Herbert Simon,
and Douglass Hofstadter are often considered modern polymaths.
The increased amount of information is balanced by its increased accessibility.
Myth: Polymaths are useless to employers.
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Fact: The accomplishments of historical polymaths often rivaled or exceeded leading specialists in their fields. Many of these
fields were even invented by polymaths.
Fact: Polymaths are the ones who can not only do their jobs superlatively, but can also fix the network, train new employees,
balance the budget, and write the reports. They have the ability of an entire team and represent an incredible boon to
employers and to society as a whole.
Myth: Polymaths make shallow contributions.
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Fact: Many historical periods, including the Golden Age of Athens, the Golden Age of Islam, the Renaissance, the
Enlightenment, the Scientific Revolution, and the American Revolution, were initiated in no small part by polymaths.
Electronic television and the fusor were invented by a polymath, Philo T. Farnsworth. Poincare laid the foundation of relativity.
Developed the
foundations of logic.
Introduced many principles of Invented an enormous set of
medicine and pharmacology. creative and artistic works.
Discovered the heliocentric
theory of cosmology.
Aristotle
(384 BC – 322 BC)
Avicenna
(980 – 1037)
Leonardo da Vinci
(1452 – 1519)
Nicolaus Copernicus
(1473 – 1543)
Philosopher, Music
Theorist,
Astronomer,
Biologist
Physician,
Philosopher,
Scientist, Poet
Artist, Inventor,
Anatomist, Scientist
Astronomer,
Mathematician,
Economist, Physician
Developed calculus (w/Newton) Invented the lightning rod,
and advanced philosophy.
ambassador of the USA.
Gottfried Leibniz
(1646 – 1716)
Wrote the Declaration of
Independence.
Advanced optics and created
many great literary works.
Benjamin Franklin
(1706 – 1790)
Thomas Jefferson
(1743 – 1826)
Johann von Goethe
(1749 – 1832)
Diplomat, Journalist,
Mathematician,
Philosopher, Lawyer, Inventor, Founder of
the University of
Linguist
Statesman, Architect,
Lawyer, Founder of
the University of
Virginia
Writer, Philosopher,
Scientist, Diplomat
Pennsylvania
Developed the foundations
of relativity (before Einstein).
Henri Poincaré
(1854 – 1912)
Mathematician,
Physicist, Miner,
Philosopher
Developed the architecture of
modern computers and M.A.D.
Invented electronic TV and the Pioneer of artificial intelligence,
fusor, among other things.
created “bounded rationality”.
John von Neumann Philo T. Farnsworth
(1903 – 1957)
(1906 – 1971)
Mathematician,
Physicist, Computer
Scientist, Game
Theorist
Herbert Simon
(1916 – 2001)
Inventor, Physicist, Cognitive Scientist,
Electrical Engineer,
Psychologist,
Farmer
Computer Scientist,
Economist
Invented the hydrometer and Wrote many pieces of music, a
wrote an astronomy book
morality play, and a language.
The first person to be called a Made massive improvements
scientist, coined “variables”.
in agriculture, prolific inventor.
Hypatia
(c. 370 - 415)
Hildegard of Bingen
(1098 - 1179)
Mary Somerville
(1780 – 1872)
Mathematician,
Philosopher,
Astronomer,
Inventor
Composer, Linguist,
Visionary, Philosopher
Scientist, Writer,
Mathematician,
Astronomer
George Washington
Carver
(1864 - 1943)
Inventor, Farmer,
Scientist, Teacher
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There are many individuals whom I have missed, particularly among those
still living.
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Charles Babbage (invented the first computer, the ophthalmoscope, and a variety of
other devices, co-founded an astronomical society, wrote a treatise on theology), 17911871.
A prolific sci-fi author.
The founders of a popular search engine.
A social scientist and economist.
A famous early 20th century artist.
Author of a popular book on logic, art, music, artificial intelligence, and consciousness.
A physicist involved in the early development of quantum mechanics.
A psychologist well known for his study of personality archetypes.
The founder of Microsoft Research, as well as one much more controversial company.
Also a physicist, author, programmer, and master chef.
A famous (and somewhat controversial) actor, economist, and author.
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Many of these individuals are still alive, some young.
The living ones are still broadening their interests and/or influencing students.
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Polymathy continues!
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There is more knowledge now, and it is
advancing much faster.
 Just keeping up with one discipline takes a
great deal of dedication!
 It takes a great deal of study and creativity to
come up with something novel.
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Division of labor solves the problem of
breadth: need another skill? Just hire
someone who knows how to do it!
So why worry about breadth?
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There is more knowledge available, and thus more undiscovered
connections.
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Suppose there are n facts in a knowledgebase. There may be as many as (n2 – n) / 2
connections.
People who know both disciplines will be necessary to discover these connections.
It takes a great deal of study and creativity to come up with something
novel.
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According to many popular theories (which we’ll discuss), broad knowledge enhances
creativity.
Those who have both domain knowledge and creative ideas will be most valuable.
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Larger teams introduce communication and management problems.
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Not to mention cost!
And scope: No one understands the full nature of what is going on!
Excessive division of labor is thus difficult and expensive; it slows the entire team down
and prevents synergies from taking place.
Polymaths make good leaders and managers.
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This corresponds to a primary domain + a wide array of secondary skills, as most polymaths of
past and present have pursued.
They have a shared perspective with their followers, because they know what their
followers’ work entails (because they’ve probably done it at some time).
They have experience pursuing novelty and thinking about problems in new ways.
They also make use of their full individual potential.
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Seemingly cross cultural:
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Culture-specific:
 Intellectual Curiosity
 Time Management
 Intuition (knowledge “coming to them”, often in dreams).
 Antiquity: breadth to understand all facets of nature and reason.
 Renaissance: breadth for the sake of being more complete people, less
beastly, “closer to God” (view championed by Pico della Mirandola).
 Enlightenment: breadth for the sake of accomplishing more, realizing
ideas.
 Modern: breadth because their visions can’t be expressed in any other
way?
 Future: breadth because it’s an economic advantage?
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All of these are good reasons!
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Drive to explore as much as possible, learn as much as possible, express as
much as possible.
Motivated not by what is, but what can be.
Not specific to polymaths: Without it, one is unlikely to master even one
discipline.
The obvious one.
Leads to motivation and skill:
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Many hours put into it scarcely seem like work at all.
Those fortunate enough to take up a skill in this manner during childhood (when time
is plentiful) begin with an advantage.
This pursuit tends to become a central aspect of the thinker’s personality.
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Often to the exclusion of other things!
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Franklin noted that a wet shirt cooled him on a hot day.
Most people would note it as a peculiarity and move on, thinking no more of it.
Franklin subsequently conducted experiments with ether and discovered the
phenomenon of evaporative cooling.
Hooke (who also discovered the inverse square law, the law of elasticity, capillary
action, and the wave theory of light, and who coined the word “cell”) dismantled clocks
before developing one of the first pocket watches.
Examples:
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Two common historical approaches:
Achieve in sequence, move on to new fields after exhausting early ones.
1.
Possible to do this within the framework of the educational system if it isn’t overly prescriptive.
Unlikely to succeed if the institution views employment as the goal of training.
End results:
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2.
Practitioners: Franklin, Avicenna, Goethe, Leibniz, Young.
Focus first on one primary skill, but practice others concurrently until they match or
surpass it.
These skills will begin as “hobbies” “on the side”.
This is not generally looked upon favorably either in employment or education.
It will likely be a self-determined and opposed effort until norms change.
You may need to hide or devalue your secondary competences at times to preserve the
appearance of normalcy. Each context in which you achieve will demand you present a
different part of yourself; none will see the whole.
Rare glimpses seen when circumstance demands an out-of-context skill.
Naturally suits child prodigies, who typically master one skill at a very young age.
End results:
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Multiple skills held late in life (though perhaps not to their fullest extent, which was experienced earlier).
Idea crossover nonexistent early on, increasingly present later. Creativity grows with age.
Diverse accomplishments across many fields.
Multiple skills held at an early age, one superlatively, but others not to their full potential until later.
Idea crossover from the start, perhaps a more creative approach.
Diverse accomplishments across many fields, with a bias towards a particular one.
Practitioners: da Vinci, Alberti, Jefferson, Alhazen, Hooke, Copernicus.
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“Depth First Polymathy”
The trick: polymathy requires mastering multiple skills, but not at the same
time.
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Benjamin Franklin began working as a printer.
He later went into science.
Only in late life (when he had established considerable reputation and power) did he
become involved in politics.
Leibniz began in law, then became a diplomat, then began working in mathematics and
philosophy.
Accomplishments persist, even after their inventor moves on to new fields.
Earlier actions often facilitate later endeavors; the first endeavors tend to be
the most difficult.
As one is working at a high level in one field, one should begin learning the
next, to bear fruit later in life.
 However, it’s important to allocate sufficient blocks of time to each area to
produce significant accomplishments.
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Drifting from field to field too quickly is unlikely to result in much novelty; each must
fructify in turn.
You will know when it’s time to learn something new.
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“Breadth First Polymathy”
The idea: primary skill will provide employment, stability, and means of idea
expression while secondary skills are developed in tandem behind the
scenes.
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Abundance of primary accomplishments early in life, gradually broadening
in scope until they enclose new areas.
High degree of creativity and novelty throughout.
Currently defies social norms; may be an unfeasible strategy due to social
obligations and expectations.
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Skills acquired in this way are synergistic.
Leonardo da Vinci began by painting, and later used his artistic ability to draw accurate
renditions of human anatomy and his inventions.
Many employers don’t see the point of learning unrelated skills.
Typically very difficult to enroll in “unrelated” courses in a graduate-level university
program (easier on undergrad. level).
All appreciate the secondary skills on the occasions when they must be used (possibly
quite often), but few support acquiring them.
More difficult to manage time: each skill demands time and effort.
Difficulty of this approach may increase with age, as more commitments
must be juggled. Best to learn the primary skill as young as possible.
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Polymaths must be:
 Able to reason within and across their
domains.
 Able to creatively come up with new ideas.
 Able to implement those ideas.
 Able to communicate those ideas to people
(or they will not be recognized until someone
else rediscovers them).
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Four major modes of reasoning:
 Deductive: “A->B and B->C, therefore A->C”
 Inductive: “This A is B, therefore all A are probably
B”.
 Abductive: “B happened and A causes B, so A
probably happened”.
 Analogy: “A is like B in some way and C is like D in
the same way, so perhaps A and C are similar”.
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Only deductive reasoning is indefeasible: i.e.
sound, valid statements are definitely true.
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Used to follow existing knowledge to its ultimate conclusions.
Often employed in precise, exacting disciplines, such as mathematics and
philosophy.
This is what people usually think of when they think of “formal logic”.
Admits no falsehood:
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If the premises are valid and the reasoning is sound, the conclusion will be valid.
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All new theorems are consequences of existing theorems.
There is no power to generalize or to extend beyond the implications of existing
knowledge.
Cannot derive entirely new knowledge:
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Examples:
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“Socrates is a man. All men are mortal. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.”
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This is also bound by the laws of logic and can still assess the validity of our existing
knowledgebase:
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There’s no escaping it! If we assert that Socrates is a man and all men are mortal, we must
conclude that Socrates is mortal.
If Socrates is not mortal, either Socrates is not a man or not all men are mortal.
An inconsistency indicates either flawed premises or flawed reasoning.
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Used for making generalizations from specific examples.
Primary uses in “intuitive” fields with few formal rules, such as the arts.
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But used more in mathematics and science than mathematicians and scientists care to admit.
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It is easy to make false (invalid) generalizations.
It is easy to make valid but unsound generalizations based on incomplete knowledge.
Can discover new facts, but not with certainty.
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It isn’t always intuitive:
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“All sheep are white” (except for the black sheep).
True conclusions now may also become false in the future.
“Raven paradox”: We see a raven and conclude that all ravens are black (inductively). Therefore, anything not black
is not a raven (deductively). Thus, everything we see that is not black and not a raven (e.g. a green apple) offers
evidence that ravens are black, which is counterintuitive.
Poorly formalized; there is no accepted formal axiomatic system for inductive logic, as
there is with deductive (and few proposals for one).
This form of logic is often subconscious and intuitive.
We use it instinctively to make many types of generalizations; it probably plays no small
part in the formation of stereotypes when applied to people.
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Explanatory: attempts to discover the cause of an observation.
 Favors the cause that best explains the observed evidence.
 Also encapsulates Occam’s Razor: other things equal, the simplest
solutions are usually favored.
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Used in science, diagnosis, forensics, and debugging.
 Answers the question “why is this happening?”
 The first steps of the scientific method are abductive: observation
and hypothesis.
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Not certain; multiple potential explanations for an observation.
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Sometimes formalized by inverting deductive reasoning.
Example:
 Some clearly more realistic and probable than others.
 The grass is wet. Therefore, it must have rained.
 This is not the only explanation: “The grass is wet; someone must have
watered it”.
 Some explanations can be wildly improbable: “The grass is wet; aliens
must have visited earth and diverted water from the ocean into the soil.”
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Seeks to apply relations between and properties of one set of concepts to
another similar set of concepts.
Useful for discovering new ideas (and thus in creative pursuits) and in
instruction.
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Innovation: “This works in one domain; can it apply to another?”
Teaching: introducing an abstract concept by relation to something already well
understood.
This is the foundation of cross-disciplinary reasoning: grasping and
exploiting the commonalities between diverse topics.
 However, it is very easy to overextend the process of analogy.
 Examples:
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Just as a photo of the same tree differs by the exposure of the camera, so does our
perception of reality differ by the state of our senses and mind. (Photography ::
Relativism)
As many instruments in unison increase the power but not the harmony of a part, so do
many identical thoughts increase the momentum but not the originality of an
organization. (Music :: Leadership)
Most specialists need only master one or two of
these modes.
 Polymaths must master them all!
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 Inductive, intuitive thinking to notice patterns.
 Abductive thinking to discover the underlying reasons
for these patterns.
 Analogy to create new ideas based on these patterns.
 Deductive, linear thinking to pursue the
implementation of these ideas.
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The first three are key to the creative process of
discovery. The fourth is integral to realization of
those discoveries.
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Most people think of IQ when they think of intelligence.
But they think of people like Einstein and Newton rather than vos Savant and Sidis when
they think of genius.
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Intelligence is only a tool:
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Extraordinary intelligence is not required for genius.
And like any tool, it is only useful if properly wielded.
While crafters appreciate the value of their tools, their purpose is higher than to merely use them;
they wish to create something with them.
How you use it depends on your purpose.
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That is because geniuses are known for their accomplishments, not how intelligent they are.
Richard Feynman, a famous physicist, had an IQ of just 124.
Most “great geniuses” were also around before IQ testing was developed.
Retrospective lists disproportionately represent polymaths, but these likely overestimate based on
breadth and precocity.
Whatever it is, your intelligence will help you get there.
But rare is the man, however intelligent, who goes somewhere without meaning to!
So as we discuss IQ and giftedness, please note that neither a low nor high IQ is an excuse
for either action or inaction. You are what you make of yourself.
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General intelligence model: Currently the dominant model. Spearman observed that scores in different subjects tended to be
correlated, and hypothesized the existence of a latent (hidden) variable called g, or the general intelligence factor.
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Under this model, IQ subscores tend to be strongly correlated to overall IQ (that is, little variance exists).
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Subscores 2 SDs (30 points) or more below the mean are considered learning disabilities, even if high.
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Logical-Mathematical: Ability to manipulate and reason about abstract symbols and rules in a structured domain.
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Verbal-Linguistic: Facility with words and language (shared symbols with concrete meanings).
Visual-Spatial: Ability to mentally visualize and manipulate objects in space.
Body-Kinesthetic: “Motor Learning”: Facility with tasks involving motion and awareness of the body.
Musical: Facility with music (and often speech), pitch, rhythm, harmony, and hearing.
Interpersonal: Ease of interaction with others, high degree of empathy, works well in a group.
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Multiple intelligences: Proposed later by Gardner. Proposed many independent types of intelligence:
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(According to Gardner, this is what IQ tests tend to measure).
People with high interpersonal intelligence tend to be extroverts (and thus derive energy from social situations).
Intrapersonal: High self-awareness, capability to reflect, ability to work independently, self-judgment.
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People with high intrapersonal intelligence tend to be introverts and also tend to be perfectionists.
Naturalistic: Awareness of one’s surroundings and one’s relation to them, ability to classify and nurture.
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This has historically been the trend.
(The existence of this intelligence is debated).
Encapsulated within the theory of multiple intelligences is the traditional model of learning:
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Visual: Learns best by seeing patterns through drawings, diagrams, or figures.
Aural: Learns best by hearing, acquiring patterns through speech or music.
Kinesthetic: Learns best by doing, learning by directly manipulating tangible objects.
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The theory of multiple intelligences does not dictate how many intelligences a person may possess.
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Conversely, the general intelligence model is strongly supportive of polymathy.
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Under this model, people with high general intelligence would be expected to perform well globally.
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Developmental theory posited by Kazimierz Dabrowski and often cited in gifted education.
Theorizes steps to development of an authentic (individually unique) personality.
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And thus conception of a unique purpose.
Which drives the application of your intelligence and its ultimate significance.
Unlike most personal development theories, most individuals do not progress.
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They remain at a state known as primary integration, driven by their biological impulses (first factor) and social conditioning (second factor).
And they are happy being there! There is little psychological tension in this state.
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Values begin to be viewed as “right” and “wrong”, and decisions begin to revolve around what the individual perceives as “the right way to live”. A
hierarchy is built. Previously held values are rejected.
These crises are very taxing, and many who experience them regress to primary integration.
According to Dabrowski, a few cannot deal with these crises and suicide.
Eventually one lives autonomously by one’s own unique code of values (“the third factor”). Conflict ceases because one’s own values
justify one’s decisions, irrespective of their relation to impulse and society.
Dabrowski advocated “autopsychotherapy” (rigorous self-assessment and reflection) as well as awareness of the positive nature of
developmental crises to prevent negative outcomes.
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Unique in that developmental potential is represented by predispositions (sensitivities) for certain types of psychological tension and crisis.
These predispositions are overexcitabilities: disproportionate sensitivities to various types of intellectual or emotional stimuli.
Crises arise and shatter our existing foundations; as personality develops, these crises become increasingly “multilevel”.
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Every action is justified either by one’s own impulses (“it’s right for me”) or by society (“everyone does it”).
Sparked by overexcitabilities; driven by “developmental potential”.
This has interesting links with the concept of intrapersonal intelligence.
Dabrowski advocated writing an autobiography, reflecting on lessons learned in past experiences, and questioning one’s values and actions.
The link to intelligence: Gifted children were found to possess overexcitabilities disproportionately.
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However, pressure to fit in (and “gifted underachievement”) is well documented in gifted children, and many do not have the environment
necessary to continue progressing.
One objective of gifted education held by proponents is thus to foster their developmental potential.
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In one word, people with OE are unusually intense.
Overexcitability is intrinsic. It is an abundance of energy and sensitivity and will never
disappear. Nor should it! Adults may suppress or channel it, but it is still present.
Psychomotor: “Can never sit still”, restless, constant need to be moving, high-energy.
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Differentiated from ADHD: children with psychomotor OE have no difficulty focusing.
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Dabrowski viewed emotional OE as the most fundamental; the source of the others.
Sensual: Increased awareness of and response to sensory stimuli, such as bright light, food,
and aesthetic beauty.
Imaginational: Contrives imaginary friends and worlds, daydreams, “head in the clouds”.
Intellectual: Penchant for problem solving, learning, puzzles. Often begins developing an
extraordinary knowledge base from a young age (unless development stops, it’ll keep
growing to prodigious heights into adulthood).
Emotional: All emotions are felt more intensely. Often a strong sense of justice and
morality, may feel both vulnerable and alienated from peers who do not feel the same way.
In these sensitivities, we can see many future possibilities, and some correspondence with
the notion of multiple intelligences. E.g.:
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Will someone with high imaginational OE grow up to write plays or fantasy novels?
Will an emotionally overexcitable child become a judge, defending the innocent from injustice?
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OE is a facet of developmental potential.
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The first to manifest; the earliest sign.
Noticed in the vast majority of gifted children studied.
This sensitivity is a great gift, but also exposes individuals to developmental crises and
existential angst later in life. Dabrowski called it “the tragic gift”.
Another factor is development of specific abilities and talents.
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This is where polymaths begin differentiating themselves.
These are early indications of competence and forms of expression.
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Most polymaths have these! For da Vinci, it was art, for Franklin it was writing, for Jefferson it was
law…
Interestingly, many polymaths began by showing precocity for languages, often learning 4 of
them or more in childhood.
It’s important to note that this need not occur during childhood; there is no timeline to
Positive Disintegration.
Finally, “the third factor”, a drive towards individual growth and autonomy,
must be present.
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This is the motivating factor for disintegrative crisis: “to be oneself, no matter the cost”.
It may be accompanied by a sense that “everyone is the same”, “society has no place
for someone like me”, or “society is backwards; my way is better”.
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Dabrowski called this “positive maladjustment”. These clashes ultimately propel the individual out
of primary integration by calling commonly held behaviors and values into question.
Primary Integration
1.
2.
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The majority of the population remains at this level or is at the border between levels 1 and 2.
There is little internal conflict: everything is justified either by one’s own impulses (1st factor) or social norms (2nd factor).
This is therefore a stable state, but no authentic personality exists. The desires of people at level 1 may as well be interchangeable.
Unilevel Disintegration
The individual is thrust spontaneously into a brief, intense crisis in which he or she must choose between “equal” (unilevel) developmental
paths.
Neither choice is more supported by impulse or society and the third factor has not yet been expressed, thus the individual has no ground to
stand on.
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Unstable; “dissonant”; must “resolve” either back down to level 1 or forward to level 3.
One may tune out the cognitive dissonance and return to the comfort of social norms…
Or one may begin assigning one’s own degree of individual meaning to different values.
Those with developmental potential who make it to this point and regress exhibit “negative adjustment”, sacrificing their own autonomous
views in favor of stability.
The majority of the population makes it to this level, regresses, and remains at level 1.
Spontaneous Multilevel Disintegration
3.
4.
Due to this, existential despair is common. There is literally no purpose perceived as satisfactory to existence at this level.
Society has no answers. Biology has no answers. The answers must come from you and you’re not ready.
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One is thrust into a crisis where one option is more valued than the other, involuntarily (“it just happens”).
Now there’s no turning back. When a higher view of life is seen, choices that reflect lower values become untenable.
Directed Multilevel Disintegration
An individual voluntarily begins to examine his or her values and deliberately adopts a course which reflects an ideal state of life according to
those values.
Values that do not stand up to scrutiny are discarded; new values are adopted. An individual strives to bring his or her behavior into harmony
with these values. Personality begins to emerge.
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Secondary Integration
5.
A state of harmony very different from the first.
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Primary integration is characterized by an externally driven system of morality.
Secondary integration, by contrast, is a state in which decisions are justified in accordance with a person’s self-chosen ideals.
One’s values, choices, and actions are unique and in alignment.
Discordant social norms present no internal conflict; one’s own values are judged superior.
However, external conflict is still possible, as others may not recognize one’s values.
True originality is manifest at this level, often in creative works and unique, authentically prosocial endeavors.
One strives to represent one’s vision of how the world should be, and attempts to reconcile society as it is against that vision.
Individuals at this level thus act to increase the developmental level of their societies.
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Most polymaths have shown evidence of going through this process.
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Many recount imaginational, emotional, or intellectual OE in their early
autobiographies.
Goethe even turned his crises into a literary movement (“sturm und drang”: “Storm and
stress”).
The early impression of da Vinci was as a frenetic and unfocused youth (“He would
have been very proficient in his early lessons, if he had not been so volatile and
flexible” --Vasari), implying one or more OEs. (Note that these traits are why he is
praised today).
Copernicus and Galileo ran famously counter to the prevailing norms and theories of
their time and discipline.
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In so doing, they advanced those norms.
Compare the quotes of any two polymaths and you will see a clear emphasis on
different values (Jefferson valued liberty and reason, Poincare valued an almost artistic
beauty of mathematics and ideas, Franklin diligence and virtue…)
Polymaths today must still go through this process.
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Specialization is a social norm; polymathy goes against the grain.
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It must be valued as the proper way to live despite society.
Overexcitabilities can drive a pursuit of knowledge and expression.
Polymaths are often known for the originality of their art and inventions.
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A nonlinear, subconscious process through which connections and patterns are realized.
Valuable because it is universal.
Intuition is possible with little or no background, and crosses readily from one discipline to
another. It is enhanced by breadth of experience, however.
Most polymaths had highly developed intuitions and brought everything they knew to
the table:
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Henri Poincare would work for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening, and would derive
the majority of his results in between.
He was among the first great mathematicians to explain his reasoning, which was founded primarily
on intuition.
He fell into fierce contention with other mathematicians, who believed that logic was at the heart of
mathematics and that intuition had little or no place in the field.
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The mathematician Jacques Hadamard agreed with Poincare. He polled 100 leading physicists and found many of
them to utilize a similarly intuitive process, by which ideas revealed themselves swiftly and completely.
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Farnsworth derived ideas for electronic TV from the patterns crossed by a tractor over a field.
Simon brought the rigor of study in the natural sciences to the study of cognition.
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According to the recognition-primed decision model, intuition is a result of perceiving similarities
between the current situation and previous scenarios.
Intuition can be strengthened through techniques such as brainstorming and freewriting
(forcing yourself to keep writing whatever comes to your mind).
Carrying around a notebook and writing whatever ideas come to mind is a way to raise
awareness of the process of intuition (not to mention gathering useful ideas for later use).
More essentially, intuition can be strengthened by gaining experience in as many
situations as possible.
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The original concept of “genius” referred not to intelligence but to creativity.
It can be defined as the ease with which one synthesizes original ideas.
According to Maslow, creativity was a product of self-actualization: freeing oneself of basic needs and
clearing the way for realization of one’s full potential.
Dabrowski viewed creativity as a result of the third factor.
Common model of the creative process:
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Preparation: exposure to and exploration of the problem domain.
Incubation: subconscious thinking about the problem (intuition at work), during which little progress is made.
Illumination: the idea bursts forth into the conscious mind.
Verification: conscious elaboration and validation of the idea.
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Seek an environment conducive to the creative process: McLaren argues that personal autonomy is integral to this
environment. Being with the right people will help tremendously.
Build breadth. Nearly all sources agree that more knowledge and experience will enhance creativity.
Challenge yourself. Tackle problems that require highly innovative solutions. You will rise to meet them.
Suspend judgment of early ideas; apply it later (verify last). Premature judgment will not only kill specific ideas, but will
slow the formation of new ones.
Focus on the problem for hours at a time; try to build up the highly productive state known as flow, in which
awareness becomes totally centered on the task at hand.
Employ both convergent and divergent modes of thought:
Steps to creativity:
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Convergent thinking is traditional problem solving. There is one best answer, and the goal is to find it.
Divergent thinking is open-ended. There are many possible solutions and much room for innovation.
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(But correlation is not causation… perhaps this is a manifestation of overexcitability?)
Be happy (or depressed). Both positive and negative emotions have been associated with creativity.
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So you’ve come up with a brilliant creative solution to a big problem.
But this is a big problem. Too big to tackle alone.
You’ll need to convince others to help you.
In short, you’ll need to lead.
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There are many styles of leadership, each suited to different leaders and teams.
Leadership is not management. Leaders inspire. Managers organize.
You will need to bring all of your skills to bear in leadership; you’ll be the role model.
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Fortunately, as a polymath, you have a huge advantage here.
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Writing (articulating your message as accurately as possible).
Verbal presentation (convincing people of the need for your leadership).
Marketing (reaching people in the first place).
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Polymaths make ideal leaders because they bring so many of these to the table.
Even if you have all of the skills required to solve the problem, you won’t have the time or energy
to do it by yourself. Don’t skimp on manpower.
Your most integral skills will be your communication skills:
Next are the unique skills you bring to the solution.
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Polymaths in the workforce are in a unique situation.
 They are often hired for proficiency in a single skill.
▪ (This is one reason why acquiring a primary proficiency as early as possible remains
important).
 Their additional skills may manifest in response to organizational crises.
▪ Skills that show when the organization has need of them.
▪ This is a boon during the crisis, but the employer may continue to frown on
polymathy after it is resolved.
 Employers are often not supportive of breadth.
▪ Viewed as “unrelated” pursuits.
▪ Emphasis on performance of primary job function; additional general competence is
secondary.
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Best environments for polymaths are ones that value creativity,
autonomy, result-driven work, and general learning.
 This is one secret to Google’s success.
 Result-driven -> less micromanagement, more time to focus on
improving one’s methods, making oneself faster and better.
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Perhaps no better place for a polymath’s talents to shine.
 Startups have few resources, need to do more with less.
 Expensive to hire people.
 Polymaths can fill many roles in the organization at the same
time.
 Even with an abundance of resources, smaller teams mean less
communication overhead.
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Good for the polymaths themselves too.
 Completely autonomous and result-driven: your success depends
on how well you can create and market your product or service.
 Few people, if any, to answer to (except your customers).
 Creativity is rewarded: it results in a better solution, which places
you ahead of your competition.
 New skills are developed as necessity dictates; less availability of
resources means less offloading work to others.
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Polymaths are known for their creativity and versatility.
Their most common traits have historically been time management,
intellectual curiosity and intuition.
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Intellectual curiosity: why they cared enough to learn as much as they did.
Time management: How they learned it.
Intuition: Glimpses of patterns and commonalities.
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Sequential: One subject at a time, start learning one while mastering another.
Concurrent: One primary subject, many additional proficiencies growing at once.
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Polymaths make more efficient use of their potential.
They capture more of the essential beauty of the world.
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The need for interdisciplinary thought is as pressing as ever.
Polymaths make ideal leaders, employees, entrepreneurs, and policymakers.
Two common approaches:
Philosophy:
And they can still flourish today!
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