ABSTRACT
In today’s society, the ideals of the polymath are something of an anachronism. Given that people can spend their whole life becoming experts in one field, the ideal of accumulating knowledge in multiple fields would, perhaps rightly, lead to the accusation of one being a jack of all trades and a master of none. There is undoubtedly some truth in this. But there are exceptions. Carr’s (2009) exposition on the last days of the polymath makes fascinating reading. The first example of a contemporary polymath that he cites is Carl Djerassi. Djerassi had a fabulous career as a scientist, including becoming a professor of chemistry at Stanford University and inventing the contraceptive pill, before turning his hand to writing fiction. During an interview with Djerassi, Carr notes a provocative metaphor that Djerassi uses which is particularly pertinent to the theme of this book. He talks about what he considers to be the difference between intellectual promiscuity and intellectual polygamy. For Djerassi, being intellectually promiscuous is to be a ‘dabbler’, someone who flits between areas of knowledge in a cavalier fashion, with little regard or care for the development of a deep or sustained intellectual understanding. Rather, Djerassi aspires to intellectual polygamy. Here, he purports, there is potentially a deeper and valued commitment to each area of knowledge; intellectual understanding is developed in a systematic yet respectful way, with a sustained connection to every particular area of knowledge that one engages with, and this is maintained without favouritism.
