In no shape or form, are polymaths "going extinct". Anyone who says this is completely misinformed on the global state of change.

The world has not only had polymaths and generalists this entire time, but on top of that the digital renaissance is pushing even more people towards it.

This video of a TEDx talk by this seemingly well informed student. I think highlights some misconceptions in the polymath concept. Even that of "that Polymaths are only in ancient history", or you could "only have them in the renaissance". Silly assumptions, and I encourage you to watch this video before reading on!

"Join us on an exploration of what it means to be a modern Renaissance man, and the benefits of cultivating a polymath mindset today." https://youtu.be/tRyllwVIpYQ

What if we want more than doing just ONE thing?

If we want to change the world as Kaloyan says, we need broad knowledge. This is the same mindset I had for the 🌐 United Living Construct, which I created to make a change in the world in fact.

It is natural for people to want to start a new hobby, but did you know that it is natural to want to jump to a new career too? We don't like doing the same thing over and over again. The very few people who DO, are the actual outliers of society. Yet we've glorified this notion of doing just one thing.

The Renaissance Man is NOT a Polymath

They are not one and the same.

I cannot tell you how many times I've seen people learn about the renaissance man, or person, and think Polymath. The TRM is someone "who knows everything", but at the time of the various renaissance(s). It was theoretically possible TO KNOW everything.

Yet in the modern era, that is no longer the case. I think the digital renaissance is an interesting case. Where if you were a "digital renaissance man" you would know everything about the online world. From omnichannel content creation to AWS networking, and even programming in a variety of languages. It makes sense in that context.

Being a better well-rounded person

This is more of the point that Kaloyan drives in the talk, and it makes sense in an effort to modernize the concept.

The modern polymath seems to be a combination of being well-rounded, curious, and technology enabled.