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A review by deeclancy
The Polymath: A Cultural History from Leonardo Da Vinci to Susan Sontag by Peter Burke
3.0
For the first few chapters, it seemed to me this book really wanted to be an encyclopaedia of polymaths. It basically names individuals from whichever era the chapter covers, lists their interests and works, and provides perhaps a little historical context (though not enough, for my taste). One interesting fact mentioned is that debates about the merits of specialization versus a more generalized education were occurring in ancient Greece and China. They are not only the product of modern, industrialized societies.
Eventually, the book does get to the crux of the matter: what makes polymaths who they are, and what personality traits do they tend to have? They tend to be from well-to-do backgrounds, particularly in historical periods in which education was still defined as a luxury associated with wealth. It also seems that they often have parents who are also polymaths and encourage their children's broad intellectual pursuits. Personality-wise, they tend to be restless, highly energetic, nomadic, and interested in working for peace. They are often able to survive on less sleep than others, working 16-hour days. Some of them have day jobs and do their scholarly activities in the morning from 4am to 8am, or alternatively, late at night. They also frequently have 'Leonardo syndrome', starting many projects that never get completed (no prizes for guessing who that's named after).
Overall, this might be an interesting read as a starting point for those who wish to explore the phenomenon, but it seems a little selective in its focus at times, skating over some influential thinkers (such as Erasmus) and devoting more time to others who are not quite so influential. It doesn't go into a huge amount of depth on any of the thinkers and the forces that may have shaped them, and as such, it reads as if we're constantly at a surface level. As stated, the book feels like it missed its calling as an encyclopedia, or perhaps a dictionary of biography.
Eventually, the book does get to the crux of the matter: what makes polymaths who they are, and what personality traits do they tend to have? They tend to be from well-to-do backgrounds, particularly in historical periods in which education was still defined as a luxury associated with wealth. It also seems that they often have parents who are also polymaths and encourage their children's broad intellectual pursuits. Personality-wise, they tend to be restless, highly energetic, nomadic, and interested in working for peace. They are often able to survive on less sleep than others, working 16-hour days. Some of them have day jobs and do their scholarly activities in the morning from 4am to 8am, or alternatively, late at night. They also frequently have 'Leonardo syndrome', starting many projects that never get completed (no prizes for guessing who that's named after).
Overall, this might be an interesting read as a starting point for those who wish to explore the phenomenon, but it seems a little selective in its focus at times, skating over some influential thinkers (such as Erasmus) and devoting more time to others who are not quite so influential. It doesn't go into a huge amount of depth on any of the thinkers and the forces that may have shaped them, and as such, it reads as if we're constantly at a surface level. As stated, the book feels like it missed its calling as an encyclopedia, or perhaps a dictionary of biography.