Aim for polymath status

Aim for polymath status.

These days, people seem to be scared of polymaths. They’re a threat to their livelihoods, so they put them down, put them in a box and tell them to stick to ‘what they know.’ You should focus on being great at just one thing, they say. We need specialists, not jacks of all trades (the last bit of that platitude is usually conveniently forgotten, mind… it goes ‘though oftentimes better than a master of one’).

Some of the most revered people in history actively avoided specialising in a single area of ability. Curie, Einstein, Da Vinci, Angelou, Darwin, Somerville — all brilliant minds with a breadth of talent that changed the world. Imagine if they were told to stay in their lane?

I dabble in painting, making music, printmaking, writing, graffiti, sign painting, photography, ceramics — I’m not especially good at any of them. But it doesn’t matter. They all help feed the curious designery side of me. And I’m in no way a polymath, but I am a design generalist, which is very much on purpose.

There’s an anecdote about someone’s uncle that’s done the rounds. He loved cooking, engineering, travel and ‘far too many other things.’ He used to say ‘Among the cooks, I’m the best engineer, and among the engineers I’m the best cook.’

I think that’s a lovely way to live.