When I Grow Up…

…I want to be a Polymath.

A Polymath is someone who is knowledgeable in a variety of subjects. It is also known as being a Universal Genius or a Generalist. Think Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci or McGuyver. I’ve always dreamed about being trapped in a broom closet and knowing that mixing the glass cleaner with the bleach will make an acidic compound that will burn the lock open on the door so I can make my escape. Yeah.

I first came across the concept of Polymath when doing a search on the term Renaissance Man. I had heard the term when watching the episode of Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School where Mo’nique calls Brooke a whore, to which Brooke takes exception to being called a whore and then goes outside and flashes her boobs on national television. Classic.

Their description of a Renaissance Man intrigued me and while bored the other day, I decided to do some research and few clicks later I was reading a Wikipedia article on Polymath. The idea of being a Polymath really fits in with my personality. I’ve never been satisfied with doing one thing. I’ve always had to have my hand in two, three, four, ten or a hundred cookie jars. If I am forced to focus on doing only one thing for too long, I get bored and that’s when trouble starts a brewin’.

So I’ve adjusted the course of my life towards becoming a recognized Polymath. To start, I sat down and listed all of the things I have an interest in: Music, writing, cooking, mysticism, technology, psychology, physics, philosophy, martial arts, history (specifically women and world), language, phenomenology, mathematics, dancing, acting, business, science, anthropology, art, ancient civilizations, theology, environment, sociology, the paranormal, metaphysics, crafts, biology and human development.

I’m not quite sure yet how I’m going to go about increasing my knowledge in, or how I will be contributing to, all of these disciplines but this blog will certainly play a central part in the journey. I hope to meet other Polymaths along the way and perhaps inspire other Polymaths to embrace the path of the Universal Genius.

Now I don’t expect to become an expert in all of these. In fact, to be recognized as a Polymath I would really only have to make significant contributions to three to five disciplines. However being a Polymath is a lifetime endeavor and since I really have nothing better to do for the next 40-50 years why not strive to become something that I’m almost certain I’ve always been?