The Polymath: Unlocking the Power of Human Versatility is a non-fiction book by British author Waqas Ahmed, first published in 2018. It argues that specialisation in education and workplaces stifles human curiosity and human potential which naturally transcend subject areas. And that professional institutions have erected walls to keep outsiders out. Ahmed argues that a new approach — one which recognises and fosters versatility — is urgently needed in the modern world. He writes that this would help people both to lead more fulfilling lives and to develop solutions to complex, multi-dimensional problems. The book draws on historical, psychological, and neuroscientific research and profiles living and historical polymaths from many cultures.
Background
The author Waqas Ahmed is an interdisciplinary scholar, artist, and curator. He has been described as a renaissance man. He is a visiting fellow at the Open University Business School and a faculty member at the London Interdisciplinary School. He is also the former Artistic Director of the Khalili Collections and the current Executive Director of the Khalili Foundation. With degrees in Economics, International relations and Neuroscience, he has previously worked as a diplomatic journalist and editor (editing reports of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings), investment analyst, and fitness trainer. His initial interest in polymathy was spurred by the way university and his early career pressured him to choose between his multiple interests. His diplomatic career and study of international relations involved a lot of travel, including to cultures in which specialisation was not treated as a default. This led to him studying Western culture's emphasis on specialisation and its polymathic alternatives. He noticed that there was no book-length treatment of the topic of polymathy in English.
Ahmed spent five years writing the book, while doing postgraduate research in neuroscience. As research for the book, he interviewed notable polymathic figures from around the world including Noam Chomsky, Story Musgrave, Douglas Hofstadter, Hamlet Isakhanli, Raymond Tallis, and Nathan Myhrvold. The book was launched at the National Gallery in London during an event commemorating the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death.
Summary
The prologue is by the Oxford University professor Martin Kemp, author of many books on the Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci. He has been cited as a leading expert on the topic. Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian Man, symbolising the unity of humanity and the cosmos, is the book's cover image.
Ahmed takes as his definition of "polymath" those who have made significant contributions to at least three different fields. Rather than seeing polymaths as exceptionally gifted, he argues that every human being has the potential to become one: that people naturally have multiple interests and talents. He contrasts this polymathic nature against what he calls "the cult of specialisation". For example, education systems stifle this nature by forcing learners to specialise in narrow topics. The book argues that specialisation encouraged by the production lines of the Industrial Revolution is counter-productive both to the individual and wider society. It suggests that the complex problems of the 21st century need the versatility, creativity, and broad perspectives characteristic of polymaths.
For individuals, Ahmed says, specialisation is dehumanising and stifles their full range of expression whereas polymathy "is a powerful means to social and intellectual emancipation" which enables a more fulfilling life. In terms of social progress, he argues that answers to specific problems often come from combining knowledge and skills from multiple areas, and that many important problems are multi-dimensional in nature and cannot be fully understood through one specialism. Rather than interpreting polymathy as a mix of occupations or of intellectual interests, Ahmed urges a breaking of the "thinker"/"doer" dichotomy and the art/science dichotomy. He argues that an orientation towards action and towards thinking support each other, and that human beings flourish by pursuing a diversity of experiences as well as a diversity of knowledge. He observes that successful people in many fields have cited hobbies and other "peripheral" activities as supplying skills or insights that helped them succeed.