The Autodidactic Polymath
Being autodidactic and a polymath are sort of frowned upon in our ultra-specialized school-taught society. Personally I believe that true autodidactic polymaths are essential to modern society. People who can claim to be experts in many fields can often see connections between subjects that are not usually connected and being self-taught often allows a person to approach a subject thinking outside of the box.
http://autopolymath.blogspot.com.au/?m=1
Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci is one of history’s best known autodidacts.
Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is the education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, an autodidact is an individual who chooses the subject they will study, their studying material and the studying rhythm and time. An autodidact may or may not have formal education, and their study may be either a complement or an alternative to it. Many notable contributions have been made by autodidacts. Influential autodidacts include Leonardo da Vinci, Goethe, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino and Srinivasa Ramanujan.
