Polymathy and Jobs

[Leif]

Here's my question: Is it possible to experience a fulfilling polymath life while maintaining a traditional career/9-5 job?

In my own life, I feel that to really feel fulfilled I need to be making real and meaningful contributions to my world through my interests and talents. If 3 of my polymath aspects are engineering, architecture, and writing, then I won't feel very fulfilled until I have contributed something I deem significantly valuable in each of these fields. Maybe that means getting a book published, designing a building that gets built, and inventing a device which goes to market.

Some of a polymath's interests are probably suited to part-time or self-directed activity, like writing. One doesn't require much infrastructure to put pen to paper and write something brilliant. Even getting published is frequently possible for virgin authors, especially now that there are so many self-publishing options available. However, other interests seem to require the resources of a traditional career to find success. Engineering and Architecture are both fields that one could pursue independently, but in order to really take them seriously, one would need to devote significant time and energy, more than is typically available evenings and weekends.

Can one pursue multiple interests and still remain gainfully employed? Which of our interests should become our "career"? Should any of them? Do we simply need to risk poverty in order to follow our dreams? I'm interested in hearing personal success stories, as well as the struggles we each face in this regard.

[braddart]

If I had to pick 2 main interests (i.e. areas that I could see myself getting a PhD in), they would be mathematics and philosophy. However, even within these academic areas, I have wide-ranging interests. In mathematics I like algebra, differential geometry/topology and mathematical physics (among others). In philosophy, I am interested in everything from applied ethics to epistemology to existentialism.

Ever since I discovered that such things as professors exist, I have wanted to be one and pursue at least one subject to the doctorate level. Unfortunately, there is very little opportunity for inter-disciplinary research, and even within one discipline, the level of focus is very high. If I did a PhD in mathematics (for example) and wanted to get a tenure-track position in a university mathematics department, I would have to pick one sub-discipline and stay within it.

Although being a professor seems to be the very best option for me, I am disappointed that I will most likely not have the freedom to study and research whatever I want. I am likely going to do masters degrees in mathematics and philosophy (I am currently do bachelors degrees in mathematics, physics and philosophy), and choose one to "specialise" in for a PhD. I suspect that I would have more freedom as a philosophy professor (then I could do "philosophy of X" whenever I'm interested in subect "X").

Does anyone have any input on the situation?

[Mike]

One problem with the academic route for polymaths is the emphasis on specialization that a doctoral degree entails. The work performed for a dissertation typically builds depth in an extremely narrow area of specialization. A dissertation topic encompassing much of the discipline of philosophy would be seen as too broad, as would a topic encompassing even a subfield, such as philosophy of mind, epistemology, or ethics. A more likely topic would be along the scope of "The Role of the Will in Postmodern Society".

If you can slog through that without becoming disillusioned (probably plus another couple of years of postdoctoral work), the opportunities do open up a bit. Tenure-track faculty are constantly under pressure to publish and obtain research funding, but there is a great deal more direction in what to publish or what research to request funding to develop by this point.

I believe self-employment to be the optimal form of work for a polymath, as it allows full utilization of available time, engages many of a polymath's resources, and allows the considerable competence that already exists to be leveraged towards a productive and profitable cause steeped at least partially in the principles of its creator. Of course, the downside is that this carries risk and restricts available resources.

[Leif]

I believe self-employment to be the optimal form of work for a polymath, as it allows full utilization of available time, engages many of a polymath's resources, and allows the considerable competence that already exists to be leveraged towards a productive and profitable cause steeped at least partially in the principles of its creator. Of course, the downside is that this carries risk and restricts available resources. (emphasis mine)

I think this point is often missed when people are considering what direction to take in terms of "gainful employment". There's a very interesting article by Claire Wolfe called "The Joys of Idleness". She discusses what seems to me to be key in finding one's passions, and developing the ability to follow them: time.

When we are trying to be synthesizers of knowledge, i.e. what polymaths are so good at, it takes a lot of time simply to store information away. It also takes time for that information to foment, and for a person's intuition to begin to connect bits of information in unexpected ways. But more to Wolfe's point, it doesn't take just time, it takes a special kind of time. Idle time. We need to have room in our lives to stop our active "do, do, do" minds, so that the invisible work of intuition can begin to happen. It is very hard to facilitate this kind of experience when we spend 8 hours of our day sleeping, 9 at work, 1 hour commuting, 1 hour getting ready to go to work, 1 hour eating dinner, 2 hours of TV and 1 hour of chores. That's 23 hours of a 24 hour day. Hard to carve out more time with a "traditional job".

Check out the article; I think you'll all find it apt.