by Waqas Ahmed
Many conventional universities do have vibrant ‘extra-curricular activities’ that include various clubs and societies (relating to sports, arts, books, activism and more) but the fact that it is considered ‘extra-curricular’ indicates the peripheral (and thereby inferior) status of all additional pursuits in the eyes of conservative educational institutions. There is a Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) degree available in the United States, but such degrees are often knocked by traditional universities and employers for being too ‘wishy-washy’ and ‘lacking focus.’ In the U.K., University College London (UCL) is one of the only institutions offering a liberal arts-style programme. It runs a Bachelor of Arts and Science (BASc) degree, which encourages students to take a multidisciplinary pathway throughout their studies. Those who think that such degrees cause reluctance with graduate employers should bring their attention to the recent Institute for Student Employment (ISE) report, which found that only 26 percent of employers in the U.K. express specific requirements regarding the actual degree discipline when considering applicants.
Self-Learning
Lewis Mumford, one of the most respected intellectuals of the twentieth century, had to drop out of university because of tuberculosis. Yet he managed ultimately to become a world authority on subjects ranging from architecture, art, history and urban planning to technology, literature and philosophy. He wrote books on each of these subjects, which include the National Book Award-winning Technics and Civilization and City in History. Mumford thus showed that it is very possible to become an intellectual polymath without any formal higher education.
Establishment institutions cannot be relied on to deliver a holistic educational experience. One must rely on oneself to develop a universal mind. Looking inwards is often the only route to intellectual, financial and spiritual emancipation. Rediscovering a sense of individuality and autonomy is the key to escaping the matrix of hyperspecialisation.
Self-learning (or ‘autodidactism’) is a viable — some may say preferable — avenue for the prospective polymath. Indeed, countless polymaths over history have become disillusioned with the formal learning process (mostly because it was insufficient and claustrophobically specialised), and sought their knowledge and skills from outside the standard curriculum.
Overall, this form of self-education is probably the most genuine (and so probably the most effective) learning process. With no social, institutional or parental pressure serving as its ignition, it is an inherently self-motivated pursuit and relies on pure initiative and curiosity; the desire to learn for one’s own sake. Most importantly, autodidacts rarely specialise, as they quickly realise that domain isolation and compartmentalisation is an artificial construct — manufactured by the formal disseminators of knowledge — that significantly limits the capacity of human understanding.
Autodidact and erudite hip-hop artist Akala, who without even a bachelor’s degree has received two honorary doctorates from major U.K. universities, considers self-learning as being the best route to intellectual freedom:
Outside the confines of the politically controlled academies, especially in this age of such wide dissemination of information, minds are free to pursue their own course of study, unrestricted by what they are told is ‘conspiracy’ or ‘lunacy’ they are free to think more openly and break taboos. This form of study is not a replacement for the rigour and discipline of the academy but rather a self-imposed discipline which searches for answers directed by the student herself and not the ‘teacher.’
Today self-learning has become so much easier given the accessibility of information through online sources (videos of tutorials and lectures, encyclopaedias, e-books, blogs, forums, social media and so on) as well as the availability of cheaper books and the opening of many libraries. The emergence of many free digital platforms allows bright but restricted young minds in remote parts of the world to receive free educational materials and tutorials for that allow for an education to match any of the world’s leading universities.
Indeed, we are witnessing a global boom in e-learning: examples of popular platforms include W3Schools, Khan Academy, University of the People, Open University, Academic Earth, Luminosity Brain Training, Mind Gym, Gems Education, EdX, Sillshare, Udacity, Udemy, TeacherTube, MIT Opensource and CK-12. This is a promising trajectory, but one with two important limitations: first, it can never serve as an effective substitute for the physical exchange of ideas, and second, none of the platforms provide a unifying framework that connects different fields. Students are left to do the synthesis and integration on their own.
A Polymathic Curriculum
Disciplines morph, shape and take their character as ideas and knowledge evolve . . . they are connected in all sorts of ways that children are currently discouraged from seeing.
— Ken Robinson
In a world where knowledge is (at least theoretically) available at our fingertips, the school curriculum ought to sacrifice depth, not only for breadth, but perhaps more importantly for context. Methods of intellectual exploration such as critical thinking, creative thinking, contextual thinking, speed-reading, emotional intelligence, decision-making, internalisation and mental resilience ought to be a greater pedagogical focus than mere ‘information transmission.’
The following is put forth as a ‘systems approach’ to developing a pre-university curriculum (for 16- to 18-year-olds) — perhaps like an International Baccalaureate (IB). For the autodidactic adult, it can be used as a framework for study at any point in their lives. As they are displayed in listed form, the subjects seem as though they are separated and codified, but ideally they should be presented in a complete, connected form — like a cosmic constellation or a neural network — that properly illustrates the intrinsic connectivity of everything. The subjects are organised according to eight fundamental facets of the human condition: Nature, Society, Mind, Body, Survival, Work and Expression and Transcendence. There is no order or hierarchy as they too are interconnected and of equal importance to one another. The objective is to achieve perspective. This perspective can then allow the student to make a well-informed choice about what he or she feels they ought to focus on in future study. They will develop their own enriched understanding of what is ‘important’ and ‘interesting.’
On acquiring each portion of knowledge, the student will be encouraged to reflect on a series of questions to the point that the necessary learning methods become instinctive: why is this important? How does it fit into my life? What’s its connection with everything else? What new insights does this give me? How can this enhance my life? How can I use this to help others? What might be worth further investigation? What could my potential contribution to the field be?
Transcendence
Cosmology: Observations on the universe and its purpose
Existentialism: Ideas on the meaning of human life and the origins of consciousness
Introspection: Investigating the inner journey and the art of meditation
World traditions: Examination of the main world religions and spiritual traditions
Morality: The moral compass, its evolution over time and difference according to place
Eschatology: Speculations and postulations on the afterlife
Love: History and philosophy, according to context and nature of relationship, nature of relationship; expression, optimisation, in literature
Nature
Physics: Energy, force, matter and motion
Geography: Geology, natural disasters, atmosphere, physics, astronomy, the environment
Botany: Plants, vegetation, horticulture
Chemistry: Composition, structure, properties and change of matter Zoology: The animal kingdom, different species
Green living: Practical tools, methods and ethics on humans living amongst nature
Society
Human history: World human history (all known narratives and perspectives)
Human geography: Migration, population, p
andemics,
International relations: Geopolitics, international organisations
Social organisation: Socialism, democracy, communalism, feudalism and so on
Justice: Legal systems worldwide and over history
Humanitarianism: Charity, disaster relief, poverty alleviation
Gender: Equality, differences, history and philosophy
Globality: Languages and cultures of the world
Future: Trends and scenarios in science and technology (superintelligence), social organisation
Challenges and solutions: Global warming, nuclear proliferation, extreme poverty, endemics and disease, natural disasters, warfare, terrorism and crime
Mind
Cognitive science: Neuroanatomy and psychology
Thinking methods: Critical thinking, lateral thinking, strategic thinking, cognitive bias, cognitive exercises
Learning methods: Reading, mnemonics, discourse, synthesis
Sources of knowledge: An investigation of the multiple sources of knowledge according to epistemological traditions from around the world
History of ideas: A survey of the history of ideas and philosophies in various world traditions
Mathematics: Logic, geometry, algebra and calculus
Body
Human anatomy: Understanding the human body, its functions, potential and limitations
Nutrition: Identifying the nutrients in various foods and their positive and negative effects on physical and mental performance
Physical training: Exploring the various purposes and methods of exercise
Sports: The study and practice of various sports that require different physical functions
Sex: Purposes, implications and performance
Hygiene: Necessary cleanliness of body, residence and place of work
Survival
Administration: Effective management of correspondence, logistics and financial planning
Arithmetic: Solutions to day-to-day mathematical problems
Emergency training: Resourcefulness, first aid, situational awareness, crisis management, self-defence
Handiwork: Basic plumbing, decorating, DIY, cleaning, driving
Family planning: Use of protection/contraception
Digital and tech: Effective use of all major digital devices, apps, software
Information: Effective navigation of the digital space, methods of news consumption, ethics and politics of media landscape
Work
Economics: Macro/micro, corporatism, consumerism, various economic models (neoclassical, neoliberal, Marxist, Islamic, communal and so on)
Professional landscape: An understanding of how one can sustain and progress financially, develop personally as well as make a meaningful contribution to people’s lives; a survey of the possible career paths and future possibilities
Organisational skills: Project management, workflow efficiency
Leadership: Decision-making, influence and persuasion, risk-taking and holistic synthesis
Teamwork: Collaboration, cooperation, empathy, synergy, functionalism, communication, emotional intelligence
Entrepreneurship: Risk analysis, market landscaping, business modelling/planning, growth
Self-development: Languages, mind training, reading, vocational education
Expression
Creative thinking: Surveying the art and science of creativity as a method and practice
Aesthetics: The philosophy of beauty and its history
Visual art: Theory, history, practice and creativity related to painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and design
Music: Theory, history, practice and creativity in world music, dance
Literature: Theory, history, practice and creativity of world literature
Film/theatre: Theory, history, practice and creativity of world film/theatre
Occupation
Revising the Notion of ‘Work’
The ultimate objective of education, then, changes from being simply a decades-long initiation ceremony for the reassurance of employers, to being a 360-degree exploration of life and the human condition. There is no dichotomy between ‘learning for the sake of earning’ and ‘learning for the sake of learning.’
As discussed earlier, the modern notion of ‘specialise to survive’ needs serious revision. The activity that one engages in to provide a means for survival and accumulation need not take up the majority of one’s time, let alone define them. Even hunter-gatherers in traditional societies, who many assumed to be in a constant struggle for survival, actually only spent the equivalent of two to three days a week focusing on acquiring food, and even that was considered more as a ‘festival’ or a ceremony than a chore. The whole idea that the bulk of one’s activity in a lifetime ought to be spent on the one thing that feeds them is a modern, capitalist construct.
The separation of work and leisure wasn’t always so stringent. ‘Work’ ought to encompass all activity — paid or unpaid, intellectual or practical — that has a survival or development value in human life. The Yir-Yoront indigenous Australian tribe, for example, still have a word (woq) which virtually refers to anything that needs doing — whether it’s hunting, ritualistic ceremony, recreation or procreation. It combines many spheres of human activity, treating them as a unified, interconnected lifestyle. Historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto reminds us that in prehistoric, Stone Age societies ‘there was no need or opportunity to separate leisure from work, or to privilege any class or either sex with special access to it.’
In a similar way, polymaths don’t necessarily see their work as ‘careers’ or ‘professions’ in the conventional sense — they will often refer to their activities (paid or unpaid) as ‘pursuits,’ or ‘projects,’ or ‘opportunities,’ or ‘ventures’ or ‘initiatives.’ They demonstrate that ‘work’ need not be a chore, but a series of exciting adventures. Yet the ‘one field for life’ model is still the accepted norm in our societies; we remain obsessed with people ‘finding their niche’ and sticking with it. Our day jobs remain the label by which our entire existence is perceived and defined.
The Twenty-First-Century Career Landscape
The world of work has become unbearably complex. The tree of the professional world has overgrown to include a multitude of branches, sub-branches and twigs, each representing a job title. Professions as well as ‘fields’ are today being redefined. The relatively old concept of ‘merchant,’ for example, has now taken a variety of new forms. Originally, merchants arose as a class of people who took the commercial burden off the artisan or farmer, allowing the latter to focus on their respective skills, free of any distraction or pressure. Today these merchants come in the form of literary agents, art agents, sports agents, speaking agents, real estate agents, even recruitment agents, all of whom consider themselves as completely distinct from one another.
In assessing one’s polymathy, we have so far considered traditional professions or ‘fields of accomplishment’ that include the scientist, artist, athlete, musician, politician, soldier, writer, architect, physician, priest, poet, lawyer, diplomat and so on. These are indeed timeless. But today, new fields have emerged within which individuals have room to excel, arguably to the same levels as in the traditional ones. This does of course affect the nature of polymathy in the 21st century.
The majority of these new fields or professions — created primarily as a result of the information age and the rise of the corporation — have replaced extinct professions such as the courtier, alchemist, gladiator and messenger with ones such as insolvency practitioner, management consultant, public relations agent, human resources manager, customer services representative, property developer, logistics manager and charity coordinator. More recently, we’ve seen the emergence of the app developer, AI engineer, social media marketer and data scientist. What about ‘reality TV star,’ ‘blogger,’ ‘royal pundit,’ ‘gossip columnist’ and ‘socialite’? Just how
many of these are what David Graeber calls ‘bullshit jobs’ — pointless occupations with little social value that are designed to make people work longer and distract them from pursuing ‘their own projects, pleasures, visions and ideas’ — is debatable.
Moreover, professions specific to the twenty-first century have completely changed the professional landscape, as have occupations emerging from the exponential growth of technology. The extent to which occupations such as these qualify as ‘distinct fields of accomplishment’ to be added to a polymathic repertoire is debatable, but ought to be considered at the very least. And then, of course, we have the exponential process of computerisation and job automation, much of which has been taking place since the industrial revolution. Oxford scholars Frey and Osborne conducted a study to show that even those jobs that we consider to be ‘safe,’ ‘human-centric’ ones will be at risk of automation:
While nineteenth-century manufacturing technologies largely substituted for skilled labour through the simplification of tasks, the Computer Revolution of the twentieth century caused a hollowing-out of middle-income jobs. . . . While computerisation has been historically confined to routine tasks involving explicit rule-based activities, algorithms for big data are now rapidly entering domains reliant upon pattern recognition and can readily substitute for labour in a wide range of non-routine cognitive tasks. In addition, advanced robots are gaining enhanced senses and dexterity, allowing them to perform a broader scope of manual tasks. This is likely to change the nature of work across industries and occupations.
