Polymaths of Permies Unite!!

A polymath is a person who has lots of interests, skills, and learns about them. "Jack of all trades" "Renaissance man"  and "Too many interests" are all phrases used to describe them.  There are a lot of polymaths in permaculture, we tend to be drawn to the sheer wonderful possibilities inherent in the varied tasks of permaculture and thrive in this niche.

I'm a classic polymath, and many years ago I figured out my life goals: Learning/Practice/Teaching. Everything I have done, from run businesses, to trash picking, through making and  modifying everything I can, has been with those goals in mind.

So, a new fun thread for us polymaths to play in!

You Know You are a Polymath When.....
(decided not to make that the title of this thread to avoid confusion, but it is a good start to discussion)

I started the morning learning about how knitting machines work; got three squash that have been stored all winter cleaned, seeded, cut and in the oven, they are headed into the canner in a while; opened up my laptop to tighten a connection that's been making the screen all pink, cleaned everything I could, including the keyboard while I was in there; am currently headed to put breakfast quiche into the oven with the squash; while breakfast cooks I'll do some quick photoshop to illustrate a post I want to do about a neat piece of last night's dreams.

Your turn, let's play! Tell us how your polymath mind manifests in the world!
:D

OMGoodness I love this. People are always baffled by the range of things we can do. Some people refuse to believe it to make themselves feel better...doesn't underestimation just grrrrr dig under your skin? Ugh. I put apple grafts out, troubleshooted why the refurb fridge doors weren't staying on (a locking hinge is missing) and sorted thru blurry maker's diagrams to get the exact part to order. Looked for DIY plans to make a remote trigger for my Holga wet plate camera. Cut out some shorts to sew together.

"Yes, I sew well enough to alter my clothes, I knit well enough to make presents, I weld well enough to make a motorbike carrying trailer, I've built bathrooms from an empty room to plumbing and electricity... I'm probably best at electronics soldering but I'll have a go at building just about anything"

I work in the IT department, specialising in audio visual. I'm part way through a degree in theology. I'm seriously considering training in audiology.

I fixed a squeak on person A's bike.
Person B "Can you stop mine squeaking?"
Me "Nah, you've got a sealed bearing on that bottom bracket"
Person B "How do you know that?"
Person A" He's a *Surname*, he knows."

I like bikes, I can completely strip a bike down and rebuild it over a few days. Can't do that with a car. Although I have always done the servicing on the cars I owned and changed the clutch and head gasket on the motorbikes I owned.

Me "I've found Blender! I've been doing to scale house design in Inkscape but now I can do 3D!"
Person C "You can do that?"
Me "Yeah well, Grandad was a draughtsman. I just expect myself to be able to do it."
Person C "Of course you do."

I'm probably over stressed if I don't have 3 books on the go.
I'm dreadful at languages but remember enough to be able to dive into the roots of the more complex english words.

Of the 40kg baggage allowance I took to the place where I was working in IT for a year, I took a sewing machine that I converted to run direct on 12v, my own soldering set, my battery drill. Maybe 4 pairs of trousers and 2 pairs of shoes.

A relaxing weekend:

After arguing two court cases on Friday, I cleaned out and set-up my rain barrels and bird bath, planted seeds I had saved last year and dug up some native flowers to share, foraged wild spring greens, made meringues and lemon curd with my teen, played my favorite video game for a couple hours, wrote some "flash fiction" and a bit more of a novel.  Sometimes I think it'd be great to quit paid work entirely and just devote myself more to gardening, community activism and creative pursuits, and keep up my language skills b/c I used to speak several languages fluently and am getting out of practice.

But then I when I am actually doing my day job I think how my clients are constantly having their rights violated and SOMEONE MUST DO SOMETHING and so that's my job and when I'm working it's like there's never enough time to do all I want to get done there, but then I need to set a hard boundary and clock off in order to do all the fun regenerative activities.

Howdy, howdy

Yes, as well as an autodidact.  I spend most of my free time learning how to do new things.  The internet is both a blessing and a curse, given I can look up almost anything these days.

This is an interesting topic. I'm a bit of a 'polymath,' and it seems like most of the people I know are. I'm going to conjecture that 'polymath' is probably the default state for human beings, if they don't grow up on modern mass media in the public education system (and often, even if they did). But sitting in front of a TV, or at a desk all day long, limits the number of skills a person is able to develop while they are young, which is when they should be beginning to develop those skills!

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
--Robert A. Heinlein  

For me, it's been difficult to hold a career path: I want to change jobs every few years because I'm getting board and want to learn something new.

I made orange chicken once.  That's gotta count for somethin'.

Andrew Welser wrote:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
--Robert A. Heinlein  

For me, it's been difficult to hold a career path: I want to change jobs every few years because I'm getting board and want to learn something new.

I think that's a characteristic of highly intelligent people, especially males. My brothers had the same issue, especially in school. They both ended up dropping out of high school because they were bored, but did well in their working lives as long as they had a variety of things to do. Retired now, they still keep busy with a variety of projects. The older of the two is working on building me a new wood stove right now, out of an old pressure tank cut down to fit the small space I have available - figuring out as he goes along how to put in an ash tray, and the stove pipe collar, and a flat top for cooking on, and how to make the air run inside for better combustion (I wish we could do a rocket mass heater, but that would entail cutting a hole in the floor of my house and building a foundation for it - though, honestly, by the time my brother has all of this stuff figured out, it might have been just as fast to do that!). He's having fun, LOL!

I've always been a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.  I can learn just about anything and run with it.  Except glass blowing.  I totally sucked at that no matter how hard I tried.  My best piece was a mistake that I refused to toss into the glass recycling bin, then several of my classmates tried to imitate my mistake so they could make a similar bud vase. 🤣

I've worked as a nanny, a cleaning woman, a veterinary assistant, a secretary, a machinist, a carpenter, a computer programmer, a painter, a Photoshop illustrator, a dumpsite manager, a mortgage loan processer/closer, an expediter, a beachfront condo resident manager, a caregiver, and a commercial food preparer (not in that order.)  And probably a few other things tucked in between.  After a few years, other things just looked more interesting than the thing I was doing that I had mastered and then grown tired of.  The factory maintenance carpenter job was the best and longest lasting, because I always had new jobs coming in that were a bit different from the others I'd done, and many repairs I had to figure out on the fly.

Hmmmm, do people like us have a version of committment issues?  I think I prefer being called a polymath, but the thought occurred to me so I figured I'd throw it out there.  🤔

So that’s what wrong with me… lol. “ I have a brain the size of a planet.. and all they want me to do is” … cook and clean.. I love learning new and WIERD things whilst multitasking.

And combining ideas. Thinking down to the roots of the rules then back up again. Recognizing how they may or may not apply, and interact with other roots.

My daughter calls me a Renaissance Man instead of a Polymath.

Robert Ray wrote:My daughter calls me a Renaissance Man instead of a Polymath.

Same thing.  :D

I failed my college diploma exam.

Not a dropout because I passed the degree exam
(it's a 2-in-1 program) but I never flaunted
that piece of paper anywhere. Not even my
employer caught sight of it - they trusted
their entrance/aptitude tests more.

I have long been retired and yet I still continue
to learn and the hardest thing is to UNLEARN.

Looking back, a lot of knowledge I accumulated
has been junk.

Anyway, I am indebted to the college library.
It held treasures like
Forman S Acton's Numerical Methods That (Usually)
Work. The word "Usually" was un-embossed from
the hardcover. I noticed that.
Other books like The Newtonian Casino and the
various books about Feynmann including his
famous lectures. I learnt to break out of the mould.

We never learnt practical things like knot tying.
  (Based off a Constrictor Knot, I invented a
   more secure one that is unfortunately  
   impossible to tie - underlying the constrictor
   is a simple overhand knot BUT what if it is
   two interlocking U-turns instead? I have
   since moved on to the better Woodland Zip-Tie
   which stays secure even in mid-air. Also, the
   Double Dragon is replacing the Bowline and
   Alpine Butterfly)

How to obtain potable water on a desert island.
   (Eliodomestico)

How to open coconuts wuthout tools.

How to open tin cans without tools.

How to rig shelter.

How to make cordage.

How to start a fire without tools.
   (Ever heard of the Rudiger Roll?)

How to drownproof.
   (I don't float well and no stamina to
    thread water(I taught myself from a
    magazine article and first tested at
    the diving pool - it works!))

How to fix a car that wouldn't start.
   (Yeah - Air, fire, fuel - but there is a
    fourth cause books don't mention)*.

How to trap and kill small animals.
   (Mojave Scissor Survival Trap)

How to rig an extension ladder.

YouTube content creators have been generous
and good to me.

Can you explain to a child why light bends in water
or how a prism splits white light?

Can you explain to a child how an airplane keeps aloft?

Can you explain how a passenger falling
out of a hot air balloon causes the balloon to
equally fall out of the sky killing everyone?

Can you explain why light has momentum but no mass?

In which Act and Scene of Romeo And Juiet does
the balcony first appear?

Did you get 5 out of 5?
With my degree I scored 0.

We learn't stuff but not how to think or question.

So I reeducated myself. I reexamined everything
all over again. My justification is backed by Buddha
in his Kalama Sutta.

I have dabbled in automotive repair (even repairing
the leak in the vacuum diaphragm).
I invented my Yin-Yong Potato recipe.
I can draw the circuit diagram for a fluorescent light fixture.
I can repair the toilet cistern.
I can explain why the Trinitarian God is
not Shrik nor violate Tawhid.
I know where Heaven is located(take that Professor Jones)
and thus where Hell is.
I am formulating anew the specifications for Heaven
because unless you tell God, you end up with the
default settings. If you read Genesis carefully, God
is a Master Gardener.
In college, I made my 4-banger calculator spit out
the usual 6 trigonometric functions as well as
logarithms and anti-logarithms.
Lastly I know how to solve the real-world-plastic
problem.

Do I qualify as a polymath?

*my air conditioner compressor siezed. True story.
(the belt didn't move - troubleshooting tip)

A token YouTube video in case you consider
yourself smart - Infinity Category Theory.

Donna Lynn wrote:I've always been a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.  I can learn just about anything and run with it.  Except glass blowing.  I totally sucked at that no matter how hard I tried.  My best piece was a mistake that I refused to toss into the glass recycling bin, then several of my classmates tried to imitate my mistake so they could make a similar bud vase. 🤣

I've worked as a nanny, a cleaning woman, a veterinary assistant, a secretary, a machinist, a carpenter, a computer programmer, a painter, a Photoshop illustrator, a dumpsite manager, a mortgage loan processer/closer, an expediter, a beachfront condo resident manager, a caregiver, and a commercial food preparer (not in that order.)  And probably a few other things tucked in between.  After a few years, other things just looked more interesting than the thing I was doing that I had mastered and then grown tired of.  The factory maintenance carpenter job was the best and longest lasting, because I always had new jobs coming in that were a bit different from the others I'd done, and many repairs I had to figure out on the fly.

Hmmmm, do people like us have a version of committment issues?  I think I prefer being called a polymath, but the thought occurred to me so I figured I'd throw it out there.  🤔

Hi Donna,
I'd love to see a photo of your bud vase
I think it's not so much of a commitment issue as a boredom issue - I get bored if the thing I do gets too obvious. I love to learn a new skill and get better and better at it. Variation keeps me going.
Did you get to be a vet assistant with or without diploma's? Asking for ... me!

Nina Surya wrote:
I think it's not so much of a commitment issue as a boredom issue - I get bored if the thing I do gets too obvious. I love to learn a new skill and get better and better at it. Variation keeps me going.

Once I've mastered a skill I'm not interested anymore. It is too easy. I like to experiment and learn, not do production work.

Did you get to be a vet assistant with or without diploma's? Asking for ... me!

I did vet assistant many many years ago, and it was basically "Are you a warm body that can clean cages, not freak out with upset animals, hand me things, be useful? You are hired!" No idea if that's still valid, but it used to be that way.

James Alun wrote:
Me "I've found Blender! I've been doing to scale house design in Inkscape but now I can do 3D!"
Person C "You can do that?"
Me "Yeah well, Grandad was a draughtsman. I just expect myself to be able to do it."
Person C "Of course you do."

Just reread this thread, I was talking to my dad's best friend, several years after dad died. I was putting a roof on something, he asked me "Did you draw plans up?" "Nah" "You just know how to do it?"  "Yes" "You and your damn dad! He put that addition on the house with no drawings! When I asked him he said 'I know how to build an addition.'  I don't know about you two!"
I was flattered to be compared to him  :D

I relate to this thread a bit too much.

Geology, maths, engineering, environmental science, beekeeping, debating, union work, scouts, bushcraft, woodland care, websites, general tech stuff, various deep dives into computer games and physical games, mountain leadership, gardening, mushrooms growing and foraging, dog training, economics... I just goes on and on.

Pearl Sutton wrote:

Nina Surya wrote:
Did you get to be a vet assistant with or without diploma's? Asking for ... me!

I did vet assistant many many years ago, and it was basically "Are you a warm body that can clean cages, not freak out with upset animals, hand me things, be useful? You are hired!" No idea if that's still valid, but it used to be that way.

Same for me, basically.  I was in 10th grade and thought I'd hit the jackpot working with animals... then I found out the vet paid less than legal minimum wage because "so many people want to work with animals that I don't have to pay that much and always have a waiting list."  I did everything from clean cages to assist in surgeries.  By the time I quit to pursue extracurricular school activities I felt that I could do a spay surgery by myself, I had assisted in so many.  There were downsides though, such as too many healthy pets being "put to sleep" just because their owners paid for it and might get upset if they saw their former pet enjoying life in someone else's yard after they paid to have them killed.  I begged to take home one dog who was friendly, gorgeous, healthy and playful.  Of course my parents would have nixed it even if the vet had said yes, but the vet eventually gave him the lethal injection after we played with him and gave him love for several days after he was dropped off for euthanasia.  

Donna Lynn wrote:
Same for me, basically.  I was in 10th grade and thought I'd hit the jackpot working with animals... then I found out the vet paid less than legal minimum wage because "so many people want to work with animals that I don't have to pay that much and always have a waiting list."  I did everything from clean cages to assist in surgeries.  By the time I quit to pursue extracurricular school activities I felt that I could do a spay surgery by myself, I had assisted in so many.  There were downsides though, such as too many healthy pets being "put to sleep" just because their owners paid for it and might get upset if they saw their former pet enjoying life in someone else's yard after they paid to have them killed.  I begged to take home one dog who was friendly, gorgeous, healthy and playful.  Of course my parents would have nixed it even if the vet had said yes, but the vet eventually gave him the lethal injection after we played with him and gave him love for several days after he was dropped off for euthanasia.  

Thanks, Donna, for lifting the veil to for me to peek to the other side.
That euthanasia-thing is heart breaking!!