What’s the difference between polymaths, people who have deep knowledge in multiple fields, and people who have an incredibly broad knowledge base?

Question

What truly determines a polymath (and why are they mostly Renaissance?)

Also is there existing terminology for the other two?

Note: above mentioned knowledge base is significantly larger than the average person. You’d probably think they swallowed an encyclopaedia.

This is a personal debate I’m having with my partner. We need answers! 😂

In: Other

Answer 1

In order to be counted as a polymath you would need to be considered an expert in a number of fields. Somebody with a broad level of knowledge would be considered to know a lot about various topics, but wouldn’t be considered at the level of being an expert in them (or in enough of them to be considered an polymath)

The Renaissance produced the most polymaths because it was a period of time where living a life that consisted primarily of academic pursuits was a lot easier to do. It was also a period when getting a rounded education (i.e. studying multiple fields of study) was more commonplace that the current social trend of specializing in one particular field.

It was also easier to become an expert in a lot of fields in the renaissance compared to the modern era. For example – there was a lot less known about physics so it was easier to learn the bulk of what was currently known about physics and be considered an expert in that field.