Paths to Polymathy | Ben Vandgrift | TEDxCharlotte
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- čas přidán 29. 11. 2016
- Learn to learn, by example. While there’s a lot of conversation around how great polymaths are, getting there yourself is still a mystery. Let’s pull back the curtain on that, and look at a spectrum of learning pathways for growing your own knowledge. I want them to walk away from this talk with their boundaries moved. They can, and should, learn more than they think they can. I want them to have another tool in their belt for discovery, another lens through which they can view their own potential genius.
What action items do you want people to take away from your talk? “1. Grow. 2. Grow.”
Ben Vandgrift struggles daily with a compulsion to solve problems. His decades-old journey has most recently led him to Clojure, allowing him to solve many software problems elegantly and efficiently. He works as a software engineer when he’s not being mauled by his rescue panther.
I struggle with a problem-solving compulsion. Like Alton Brown, there’s nothing I hate more than not knowing everything-learning new things is a life’s work, a hobby, a profession, and a joy.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ― Rumi.
i'm sitting in my room trying not to cry, i've finally found the purpose of my life, thank you!!!!
The key is to become a polymath without becoming a dilettante. The former not only fully commits themselves towards multiple avenues of thought, but integrates them as their knowledge grows; the latter will only go so far in their pursuits before abandoning them, leaving them half-finished while never integrating them into a cohesive whole.
again, a Renaissance Man is one who “masters” multiple skills and not one who has mere knowledge of a field. I’ve read 5 neuroscience books but that doesn’t make me a neuroscientist/master of neuroscience. I’m a trained architect, I paint, write haiku, short stories and do many other things. I’m a dilettante. I dabble with these thing but will never master them. It’s impossible. The depth of knowledge on most subject today it is incredible.
Farmers are polymaths ...
Sounds like ADHD in a nutshell
My grand obsession is deep diving into a no. of different subjects. I believe most people have never met anyone who has committed a significant amount of their time to learning and perfecting one thing, and how awesome that looks to those who have the privilege to witness the fruits of their labor. For instance, when I attended college, I was a music major, and after seeing the chairman of the piano department play, I was floored. I honestly didn't know anyone could be that good at ANYTHING. Then he completely turned my world upside down when he said, 'I have friends much better than I am - and I wouldn't even count any of them as one of the very best in the world." That was 1998, and it started me down a path of being obsessed with pursuing and witnessing greatness. I would like to not only be THAT competent at multiple things. To me, there is no other option in life.
This is why I'm intrigued by the anti-aging field of science. If I could live long enough, I could pursue everything and know everything. I would die satisfied.
I have literally only learnt of this term today. Weird as I pursued architecture since it can incorporate many fields of study I find interesting; art, engineering, geography, philosophy, history and politics . I also consider paying guitar as my only hobby. Guess I have been a polymath without realising it. Neat.
Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back
"Necessity is about reaching the minimum, while curiosity is about reaching the maximum."
"The cage of specialization" - well said!
Btw.
So glad I came across this talk. I am a lawyer but constantly finds myself interested in many other things or streams of learning often times unrelated to my chosen profession. I thought I was a bit weird because one can't be a "jack of all trades" OR so I was taught my whole life. Good to know that I am not weird at all but only normal as a polymath. If only we all could live out our God given potential.
I came here after a similar talk “Why some of of us don’t have one true calling”. I consider myself toward the dedication side, but never connected the dots of what I was learning which made me neither curious nor actively learning. Thank you for expressing the other side of this too. ♥️
This talk has singlehandedly answered all the questions I had about my learning behaviour.
Brilliant talk ! Thank you for shedding light on what I’ve been experiencing for years
Wow, this made me feel better. Welcome to my channel, polymath. History, geography, literature, science, math, games, astrology, theater, and more.
I really enjoyed watching Ben's Ted Talk, especially since he was so calm, not hammering any information into our heads at a breakneck pace.