Polymath: Master Multiple Disciplines, Learn New Skills, Think Flexibly, and Become Extraordinary Autodidact

by Peter Hollins

Expertise pays; polymathy pays exponentially. Build a world-class skillset that will make you unique and irreplaceable.

Polymath: a person of wide knowledge and learning. The art of becoming a polymath is really about maximizing your opportunities in life. Don’t be the person with the hammer - be the person with an entire woodshop at their disposal.
Learn to think outside the box and adopt a flexible mindset. Become multi-faceted.

Polymath shows you how to be a singular entity, like Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, and Thomas Young. No, you won’t achieve what they achieved, but you will understand the skills, habits, and techniques to master multiple realms of knowledge and skills. Almost every famous genius you know is a polymath. This book will trace their journeys and change the way you look at learning. Jack of all trades, master of none? No such thing.

A complete learning framework, from novice to expert, in any skill or discipline.
Peter Hollins has studied psychology and peak human performance for over a dozen years and is a bestselling author. He has worked with a multitude of individuals to unlock their potential and path towards success. His writing draws on his academic, coaching, and research experience.

Become a modern day Renaissance man/woman; broaden your horizons.
•Learn why you should become a pi-shaped polymath.•The primary traits you need to foster genius.•A 10-step process of learning a new topic or skill from A to Z.•How to choose and select your unique set of skills.•How to create your “second brain” on paper.•Examples from every era of mankind.

Learn new perspectives, understand people better, and gain confidence to break your comfort zone.

Polymathy is the most important skill for your career, hands down. It makes you one-of-a-kind. Become the most unique person you know. Create new routines and habits. Upgrade your life circumstances and see how mentally tough flexible thinking makes you. It boils down to this one question: are you content with your life circumstances? No? Then embrace the polymath mindset.

Genres: Self Help, Psychology, Nonfiction, Productivity, Personal Development, Education, Business

196 pages, Paperback

Expected publication May 19, 2029

About the author

Peter Hollins is a bestselling author, human psychology researcher, and a student of the human condition. He possesses a BS in psychology and a graduate degree.

Reviews

[Pablo María Fernández · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably his weird interview with Tim Ferriss was a warning sign but I didn’t pay attention to it and read this book anyway. It was a big disappointment because the premise is good but the content doesn’t go along with it.
I like the concept and it resonates in me because I have a lot of different interests and I see myself more like a generalist with a couple of specializations than a specialist. I thought the author was going to present more like an intellectual exploration of this type of profile but it finish being a bad self-help book. The first chapters defining the concept seem interesting but then it’s like a manual to become a polymath with a lot of how-tos, common sense “tricks” (taking notes and rewriting them many times, to learn some stuff...).
All the time he associates this polymath concept with the Renaissance artists but what he is talking about has more to do with a pragmatic approach to a slash career than with the curiosity, the avid of knowledge and studying just for the joy of it of a Da Vinci, a Cocteau, a Buckminster.
If you are looking is for career advice on how to combine multiple skills a better reading would be One Person / Multiple Careers by Marci Alboher.
If you are looking to become a polymath, a Renaissance man or woman I would look somewhere else. I personally think that it’s not something that you learn on a book but a personality type that comes with you and at best you can do is nurture with art, science and books (but not this one).

[Václav Veselý · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title of the book is slightly misleading as only about 1/4 of the book is concerned with the process of learning the new skills. Furthermore, the suggested learning method does not seem to be supported by any scientific research, although most of its steps look fairly reasonable.
The majority of the book discusses the mindset and the benefits of being a polymath. The main issue here is a lot of repetition. It often feels like the author is trying to convince you about something you have been sold on 10 pages earlier.
Not to be overly critical, the book is easily readable and contains quite a number of interesting facts. However, I would not expect it to be a stepping stone for anyone to become a renaissance person (though I do not think any book can do this for you).

[Kanishka Raj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lacks fresh ideas and involves a lot of repetition. The only value I got out of this read is the introduction which creates a new context of operating in the world - being a polymath. I have come across better books on this subject though.

[Tarini Chandrashekhar · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good starting point if you are just getting started on your journey towards multifaceted learning. But I was slightly disappointed by the repetition and the lack of fresh ideas about polymathic minds. The case studies about the great Renaissance men was exhaustive but lacking depth in individual cases. The book delivered on the 'What are Polymaths?' aspect but failed to deliver on the 'How does one navigate multiple disciplines and create synergy between them?' effectively, which is the most important aspect of juggling multiple disciplines.

I would recommend it to a beginner in self-learning.

[Rosalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repetitive. Could have been a blog post imho.

[Rome · Rating 5 out of 5]

The idea of becoming a polymath isn't very new to me but it is quite hard to find any book that actually discusses about the ideas behind it. While the idea of how one can become a polymath has been mostly vague in the articles I've read in the past, Peter Hollins was able to organize the basic principles on how one can strive to become a polymath.

He gave ample examples on how one can also pursue learning and different fields of expertise and perhaps find the synergy which could differentiate one from the rest of the experts.

I love how this book is organized and I also liked the quick summaries available at the end of each chapter.

[julio R. Melendez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's perfect for me. I have a variety of interests, but not a system, or method to put it all together, and this book does just that. Unfortunately, I don't have many friends who have my inclination for that broad perspective on knowledge, but I highly recommend it to those few who venture out into that way of life.

[Rod Zinkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slender book that does not go very in depth into the subject, but includes quality traits of the polymath, 10 methods to go from novice to master of a subject, short bios of several famous polymaths in history. A fun read that I found motivating, and the 10 steps and the author's suggestions for note-taking very useful.

[Jaron Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Read

I would recommend this book.to anyone who has a dire need for.self discovery and often question why they avoid the typical social norms of life. I realized I was different before I knew there was a coined term for my habits and behaviors and this book helped shed light on why!!! An amazing read... Loved it

[Joel Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polymath is a book that provides readers with a framework to become a polymath, or a person with wide knowledge and learning in multiple disciplines.

The author's approach to embracing one's natural tendencies and curiosities, and creating a personal curriculum to focus on them, resonates with me. The concept of being "pi" or "comb" shaped versus being "T" shaped also helped me understand the importance of having a breadth of knowledge and how it expands with each additional branch of knowledge. The idea of skill-stacking and combining interests to create more valuable skills is something that I found to be very valuable. The author's process for developing polymath skills, starting with identifying areas of interest and going wide, is also something that I found to be helpful.

The book also explains that great polymaths of the past had time and money to pursue their interests, and that being in the top 25% in a variety of areas is more doable than being in the top 5% in any one thing. The synergies that arise from a variety of areas is something a specialist in the top 5% of a single area does not benefit from and can become short-sighted and closed to potential opportunities.

Overall, the book is informative, quick and easy to read, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to take a more systematic approach to polymathy.

[Ollie Wanjohi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grade: B+, 200 pages, novice friendly

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This was my 2nd Peter Hollins book, the first one being the science of self learning which I read just before.

A book on autodidactism (the science of self learning) then a book on polymathy (essentially a supreme autodidact)- im happy I read the books in this order.

It taught me about what it truly means to be a polymath, reinforced the benefits of being one, and introduced me to concepts such as the synergistic and unique skill stacking that leads to polymath’s being unique and irreplaceable.

It taught me about a lot of history’s most known polymaths such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Young, and Van Goethe. I learned more about the extent of their specific polymath expertise and this filled me with inspiration.

The book also introduced me to Imhotep, one of the great polymath’s of Ancient Egypt, long forgotten and omitted from the history books. The book also introduced me to Ancient Nubia, inspiring me to bring forward my planned learning about the world’s true history & African Genesis, not the common beliefs of today, brought about by centuries of Eurocentric thought and education. 

I don’t have much on the criticism side for this one, and would definitely recommend to all aspiring or current polymaths.

[Mukesh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up because I've been hoping to gain some real motivation for branching out and learning in various different fields. I've always been very attracted to the concept of the polymath. I love the idea of being able to connect dots between different fields rather than staying stuck within the confines of just one.

Peter Hollins does a great job of making some strong arguments upfront for the power of breadth and shares tales of famous polymaths that made me nod in agreement. He has one chapter that is focused on the transferability of knowledge across disciplines that actually sunk into my head for awhile and made me think about my own abandoned hobbies.

For the most part, however, it feels like it reiterates itself over and over again. The book seems to touch on generic learning advice, I’ve heard before a multitude of other self-help books. It never really digs deep enough to truly make me feel like I have something I can use right now to guide me further in my learning efforts, which is exactly what I need in an information age and I was really waiting for this book to provide me with more structure and concrete advice.

[Stephen Andert]

The work needed to specialize your expertise at the highest level in any field is very intense.

So what options are there? Work harder than everyone else?

In his book, Polymath, Peter Hollins explains another way.

A polymath is someone with more than one interest. By combining interests your skills can be more valuable than being a superstar in one area.

One of the keys is skill-stacking. Seeing the extreme difficulty in developing expertise (top 1%) in one subject to the highest levels, it can be more achievable to shoot for being in the 5-15% in 2 or more areas.

Besides an easier path to achieving this, there is ample evidence that skill-stacking has been a key to the success of many of the greatest inventors and creators including Einstein and da Vinci.

One of my favorite parts of this book is the section where Hollins outlines a process for developing your polymath skills. He starts by helping you identify areas you want to learn more about and how to go wide and identify what specific area you want to focus on.

[Kenneth Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read.
The basis of this method is one that seems good in principal but requires much patience and practice like anything worthwhile. I appreciate that the author laid out steps to adhere too.
My main gripe is that the beginning and the end were majority filler and that this book could’ve probably been shrunk down to 50 pages including the summary at the end. The introduction is necessary to build interest, but the end listing off notable polymaths (while interesting) seemed wholly unnecessary.
Overall I’d give it a solid 3 stars, a quick read, but one you can stop reading after the polymathic steps are laid out.

[Benard Mutua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter demystifies the term polymath, distills the core traits or the polymathic mind, and gives a simplified ten-step process of acquiring new competencies. He advises that it's not about just getting a diverse set of competencies, but a set that is complementary or at least related so that they enrich the whole.

The book has useful summaries at the end of each chapter that gives the reader quick recaps. His suggested approach to note taking, while making it a bit more tasking, leads to massive improvement in the ability to retain knowledge that has been recently acquired.

[Read by Fred · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good read, though the ebook format was poor. I would recommend the paperback as opposed to the ebook (assuming it's better formatted).

I did appreciate the end chapter that summarized all the previous chapters. I also enjoyed the chapter on giants in the polymath realm (da Vinci, Descartes, Goethe, Imhotep, and Young) however, I would have preferred more than 5 examples - or maybe a separate chapter on each person.

The "how-to" chapters were good, though the note taking process might be more than I'm willing to do :)

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌟🌟🌟
Polymath by Peter Hollins argues that learning across several disciplines can make you more adaptable, creative and capable of connecting ideas. It offers a practical framework for teaching yourself new skills, progressing from beginner to competence, and combining knowledge in ways that create new opportunities.

It's a short read offering a practical, step-by-step self-learning framework, although some advice may be familiar, may offer less scientific depth than you prefer or are expecting to receive.

[Abhilash Gopalakrishnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great innovators have been driven by curiosity. Learning’s across domains often enables us to synthesise ideas across and explore and solve problems in new ways. Great polymaths include Leonardo Da Vinci, Goethe and so on. The book is a simple read and summarise the approaches they have possibly taken and their drive and relentless pursuit of learning driven by curiosity. Benefits each of us to get better by approaching skills in a more fluid way.

[Kevin Schaeffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know what a polymath was, turns out I have been one my entire life. Jack of all trades, master of ? I taught myself to play guitar at the age of 50, turned myself into ambidextrous for the challenge, (I can write with a pen in each hand, freaks people out!) never stop learning. But a good little book, only took a few hours to read. Skill stacking was a term I had never heard before, that was enlightening.

[Nate Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

First of all, the author puts Elon Musk next to Da Vinci and Franklin and calls him a polymath. Second, the entire premise of the book is a recipe to become a polymath. It isn’t that simple. While there are some gems in here, I think the idea that becoming a polymath is for those that want fame and fortune is flawed. Polymaths have the personality types that lead them down that path.

[Gary · Rating 2 out of 5]

The start was promising but the rest of the book didn't have much substance or originality, and it felt too focused on using skills to make money or advance your career, with only the occasional suggestion that you might want to learn things just for fun and interest of learning them. On the plus side, it was a quick read and the mini-biographies of famous polymaths from history were enjoyable and informative.

[Daniel C. Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple read that inspires.

The author does a good job of giving examples of who is considered a polymath. He also gives a good outline for someone to follow and practice. I would have given 4 stars however there is quite a bit of text that is repeated. It felt that the author was trying to fill pages instead of stating important points.

[Esequiel Contreras Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masters of the Universe

Let’s face it!

A polymath is someone we should all aspire to be.

Do we though?

In this day and age we have all the necessary resources to be one but will you actually take the time to do it?

I will!

Reading Peter Hollins book made me a realize that I have the potential to be one.

Zeke Contreras
May 27, 2020
San Antonio, Texas

[Robert Hausladen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intellectual Curiosity

Early in the book we learn that it is the attitude of polymaths that sets them apart. Asking questions of themselves and seeking out answers becomes the stock and trade of these multifaceted individuals. In a world of rapid change, this curiosity becomes a differentiating factor in our pursuit of success.

[Wade Sarver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love polymath!

This was a fun read. I always felt like a polymath but didn’t understand what that was, not really.
This was a fun read and points out the historically famous people in history that were polymath and helps guide you to becoming one.
Quick read, easy to understand, and a good introductory book.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but Great

Polymathy is broken down so simply by the author that a path is clear to reaching such status.

Contrary to popular belief, the author debunks the myth that specialists make the world-changing breakthroughs in any, and all, areas of study.

Highly recommend read for anyone that wants to make a difference!

[Bruce Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hace tiempo no leía un libro directo al grano, eso me gusto. Es práctico y el volumen de ejemplos de personalidades es adecuado.
Interesante el concepto del modelo T, Pi y Peine, lo había leído en otros recursos.

Me faltó las referencias bibliográficas, las extrañe, no se si es la traducción o el original no las tiene.

[Carolin · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was very little substance to this book.

His premise was that you only want to become a polymath for career advancement. There was no consideration that people actually like to learn.

PS: the title ‘von’ has nothing to do with being or being similar to a prime minister. A simple google search would have helped the author.

[christopher moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

This book was very informative and I will definitely use some of these tips in my furtherance of polymath in my own life as a social analyst, writer,poet, amateur philosopher, and veteran.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty Good; Motivational with good ideas and examples

This is not a revolutionary book. But it is well organized, easy to read quickly, and has a few good examples and suggestions for choosing and organizing your self-guided study.