Have you ever tried to teach yourself a new skill on your own? Maybe you’ve likely come across the terms autodidact and polymath on the internet.
Autodidacts are those people who teach themselves skills and polymaths are masters of many skills.
Often, a person who is an autodidact can also be a polymath, and vice versa.
A polymath is not someone who is necessarily good at different kinds of math.
Math comes from the Greek word mathein or “to learn.”
Poly comes from the Greek word “many or much.” Other poly words include:
- Polyglot—a person who understands many languages
- Polygon—a two-dimensional shape with many sides
- Polytheism—worshiping many “gods”
An autodidact is a person who learns skills and subjects primarily on their own without formal schooling or training, and a polymath is someone who is proficient at multiple skills or subjects.
The fundamental condition for being considered a polymath has to do with how many skills you learn, while the condition for being an autodidact has to do with how you learn.
Becoming an autodidact polymath starts with becoming comfortable with the idea that not everyone has to be a specialist, and that teaching yourself is a valid way to learn.
To become a polymath you need to set goals, locate resources, and develop habits that will lead to successful learning.
If you want to become an autodidactic polymath, you need to have two things more than anything else: curiosity and self-motivation.
Autodidacts (self-taught people) and polymaths (masters at many skills) are both becoming more common because more information is accessible to a wider range of people.
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Writer
Kulsuma Bahar Bethi
Content Writing Intern
YSSE