Polymaths by NATURE are creative people, and in turn often become MAKERS. While not the same thing, there is a lot of correlation there.

Take Leonardo Da Vinci for example, who is something known for painting, but he was far more capable of that. He came up with tons and tons of unique designs for machines. From a submersion suit, to a parachute, to even a TANK.

He even created prototypes of some of his inventions. Adam Savage from Mythbusters is one of the people on the show who made a lot of really cool things for us to learn from while watching. Check out this video by him, and of course his channel!

Using YouTube as a Maker to SHOW people how to do things

"As a maker I would have loved to have access to YouTube when I was a kid" -Adam Savage

It is a great platform for people of all backgrounds to show people what skills they have, and how to do those skills.

Makers are the people that are creating various different things and prototypes. They are the creative folks of the world, while content creators count towards this, this particular name "maker" is more geared towards physical things.

I.e. the person making stuffed Pokemon out of yarn, the CAD designer making 3D printed models, the engineer creating a toothpick bridge, etc.

In a world of Rapid Development, Makers are Crucial

Adam says this more acutely, so make sure you checked out the short video part of this post! However we are reaching a point of wonderous industrialization, INSIDE the home, or office.

We have the ability now thanks innovations like 3D printing. To create fantastic replacements for things that we might have not been able to before. At least things that would have been hard to replace. Need a certain piece to fit into a fridge repair? Print it.

Need a model to test how something will fit in a project? Print it with cheaper plastic, than making a prototype out of more expensive material.

The Rise of "Bespoke" Makers (one career path)

As Adam put it, the people who could make the very specific items that YOU need created. For example I've been obsessed with mini pcs, and I wanted to create my own PC case to optimize for perfect positioning of parts and airflow.

While not for everyone, and there is certainly a place for big corporations; The fact that we have these options at all is what I think is important!

Collecting Skills

Makers by default don't know everything about their craft. Hence why they are curious about it, they want to know how these things are made.

Thus they figure them out piece by piece, and inside and out!

These are the people that become polymaths by simply indulging in their curiosity.