Afterthoughts, book review: Polymath - Peter Hollins
This book is rather short. About 190 pages long. It gets to the point very quickly about the benefits of being a polymath referencing to historical polymath figures like Leonardo Da Vinci, Einstein and Elon Musk.
I agree with Peter Hollins in the view that it is rather counterintuitive to believe that a generalist (assume someone who is top 15% in multiple fields) may come up with a better solution than an expert (top 1% in a specific field) will.
This is because most problems are not linear problems, and pulling in knowledge from different disciplines and relating concepts from various fields influences one to generate creative ideas; and more importantly, not be inhibited by existing beliefs or knowledge.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to reignite their passion for learning. To me, the value of this book is not in teaching us how to become a polymath because that is not possible. A true polymath does not think about how to become a polymath, but that he already is. The true value of this book is to remind us the importance curiosity-led learning. Most college graduates today, myself included, are misguided to think too pragmatically. Min-Maxing our way through our academic years. As a result, we learn, not out of curiosity, but for grades. As we graudate, we lost all the drive to learn and have forgotten the joy of learning.
To keep this review short, here are some highly impactful words that will hopefully remind and encourage myself and the reader on what it means to be a polymath (curious learner and teacher).
"Generalist, Curiosity, Connections, Play, Process, Engaged, Natural, Teach."
Polymath = Curious learner and teacher