"Polymath (from Greek polymathēs, πολυμαθής, 'having learned much'); a person whose great knowledge is not restricted to one subject area: Aristotle, Galileo, da Vinci, Jefferson, Goethe, Tesla.
I've found that a defining trait of learning in the information age is the lack of specialisation. I do not spend my free time drudging through reports and essays relating to a particular selected interest or field. Instead I get lost in wikipedia, following interesting links as I get bored with the articles which contain them. In an hour I can go from ancient mound-building cultures, to hydrology, to environmental engineering, to noise pollution, to noise rock. I don't sit there and take notes, I sit there with dilated pupils, unblinking, my mind bent on devouring this information, because I found it, I sought it out under my own power and for my own internal advancement. It doesn't matter if what I learn is incomplete because I will never be tested on it directly and will never need to use it in the workplace.
I think this way of learning can genuinely be called 'self-directed' in the sense that it's the method thats in control, not me. I don't really 'choose' what to click on, I just can't help my self. My knowledgebase grows like a Stromatolite in zero gravity; tendrils of interest at play, sprouting outwards in every direction, depositing the solid waste of experienced information."
I've found that a defining trait of learning in the information age is the lack of specialisation. I do not spend my free time drudging through reports and essays relating to a particular selected interest or field. Instead I get lost in wikipedia, following interesting links as I get bored with the articles which contain them. In an hour I can go from ancient mound-building cultures, to hydrology, to environmental engineering, to noise pollution, to noise rock. I don't sit there and take notes, I sit there with dilated pupils, unblinking, my mind bent on devouring this information, because I found it, I sought it out under my own power and for my own internal advancement. It doesn't matter if what I learn is incomplete because I will never be tested on it directly and will never need to use it in the workplace.
I think this way of learning can genuinely be called 'self-directed' in the sense that it's the method thats in control, not me. I don't really 'choose' what to click on, I just can't help my self. My knowledgebase grows like a Stromatolite in zero gravity; tendrils of interest at play, sprouting outwards in every direction, depositing the solid waste of experienced information."
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