If you are an artist or a creative, chances are you may be a polymath. But what exactly does it mean?

No, it’s not really all about being an expert in MATH. A Polymath is someone whose expertise lies in not only one, but many subjects

At times, this term is used synonymously with ‘multipotentialite’, referring to a person with many interests and creative pursuits. But really, the two terms are different. A multipotentialite person dabbles in different areas of interests and does not necessarily have to master everything. But to be a polymath, you must be an expert in ALL of your pursued interests.

7 WAYS TO TELL IF YOU ARE A POLYMATH

1. YOU ALWAYS WANT TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW

A polymath’s brain is wired to always seek new things to learn, very similar to multipotentialites. These type of people have perpetual hunger to improve their skills. They either have long lists of books to read or are subscribed to different online articles or blogs.

Fact: Because of their high level of intellectual performance, polymaths are common to have high educational attainment.

Do you always want to learn something new?

2. YOU ARE MOSTLY SELF-TAUGHT

Most polymaths tend to be self-taught, which also translates to them being called autodidact. Auto didacticism is the art of selfdirected learning. They learn and acquire their skills without going to formal institutions.

Why? It’s because a polymath’s curiosity and interest to learn something new everyday drives him/her to read. A lot. Their hunger for new information pushes them to self-learn.

For the modern-day autodidact, the internet is booming with free educational resources. Just look at all the tutorials in different genres available on YouTube, the free recipes shared by lifestyle websites that you can try at home without going to culinary school, and the different blogs focusing on a specific niche that are there to educate.

The internet is truly my sole buddy when it comes to the art of selfeducation. It’s where I learned how to draw, paint, sculpt, crochet, knit, and do all sorts of things related to arts and crafts.

Are you mostly self-taught?

3. YOU WANT TO FILL ANY GAPS IN YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Do you often have moments where you suddenly have a question in your head and you couldn’t settle unless you find the answer?

Most non-polymaths just forget the question and move on, except when they’re compelled to research about it. But you, you are passionately curious so you open your phone’s web browser in the middle of a grocery shopping and you pause… and you google.

Sounds familiar? I like to call this inquiry-based learning. You fill the gaps in your knowledge by answering day-to-day random questions.

Do you always want to fill gaps in your knowledge?

4. YOU HAVE LITTLE INTEREST IN PETTY SOCIALISING

Instead, you spend much of your time researching subjects of interest. You would rather choose to stay at home than go out and involve yourself in shallow, small talks.

You’re looking for ‘meat’ in every conversation, but petty talks are common in social gatherings so you avoid them. Sounds like you?

Do you have interest in petty socializing?

5. YOU ARE INTERESTED IN DIFFERENT HOBBIES AND YOU DON’T ONLY PURSUE THEM, YOU MASTER ALL OF THEM

The most renowned polymath was Italian renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, the one who painted the most sung about artwork in history: The Mona Lisa painting.

He isn’t only a master painter, he is also an engineer, anatomist, biologist, physicist, architect, geologist, and astronomer. His accomplishments and skills are just way beyond almost anyone’s league.

But you don’t have to be a genius like da Vinci to be a polymath. You could just be an ordinary person but master in at least three or four chosen fields.

Are you interested in mastering in different hobbies?

6. YOU ARE HIGHLY CREATIVE

Imagine mastering two subject areas and combining the concepts mastered from those different areas to one creative concept?

Developing multiple talents often result in a creative combination that will rarely happen if a person is only master to one subject area.

Are you creative?

7. NO ONE GETS YOU

Because of these traits, people have a hard time understanding you. You always feel like you don’t belong. People think you’re weird or antisocial, but the truth is, they just couldn’t comprehend you!

Does people have a hard time understanding you?

If you’ve answered at least 5 YES to the above, you are definitely a POLYMATH!