Hunt for Modern Polymaths: 20 Living Examples • Hacker News Board

Re: Hunt for Modern Polymaths: 20 Living Examples

#11

Post by MaysonL » Sun, Oct 11, 2009, 12:37 AM UTC

yarapavan wrote: post #2

A Polymath is someone who knows a lot about a lot and whose expertise fills a number of significant subject areas. I know that there are lots of people who'll fit the bill. Who do you recommend as a living example of a modern polymath?

Juli Crockett[1] - singer-songwriter, playwright & director [just had a play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival], blogger, philosopher [currently writing her doctoral thesis], and retired professional boxer[3-0]. And she's a lot younger (and prettier) than any of those listed in the article.

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juli_Crockett

Re: Hunt for Modern Polymaths: 20 Living Examples

#12

Post by chromophore » Sun, Oct 11, 2009, 5:55 AM UTC

frisco wrote: post #4

A lot of the "strings" seem expansions of others or superfluous. For example, it lists "Physicist, philosopher, author, mathematician" for Penrose. I'm not so sure that theoretical physics and maths are different enough to qualify you as a polymath, and "author" falls out of being a good physicist; he's not exactly writing fiction on the side.

I don't agree with you. Read "Shadows of the Mind", your opinions on him might change.

I don't think being a Polymath means you have to know mutually exclusive stuff. I don't that's possible in the sciences anyway.

Re: Hunt for Modern Polymaths: 20 Living Examples

#13

Post by billswift » Sun, Oct 11, 2009, 4:07 PM UTC

yarapavan wrote: post #5

rglovejoy wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* Anthony Julius - Author, Literary Critic, Attorney * Donald Knuth - Mathematician, Typographer, Musician, Philosopher * Rudy Rucker - Mathematician, Science Fiction Writer * Alex Kozinski - Federal Judge, Essayist, Humorist * Murray Gell-Mann - Physicist, Mathematician, Linguist

One more addition * Von Neumann - Mathematician, Economist,Game Theorist, Computer Scientist.

Von Neumann isn't exactly living. If you want to include recently dead Richard Feynman would be tops.

Re: Hunt for Modern Polymaths: 20 Living Examples

#14

Post by nibrahim » Mon, Oct 12, 2009, 7:03 AM UTC

bhiggins wrote: post #9

nibrahim wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eric Raymond perhaps? - Programmer, Musician, Media personality, Martial artist, Economist, Mathematician, Mystic, Essayist, Author The man does have a way of 'inflating' what he does but these are things he claims to be.

you have to be good at those things to count

Point taken. :)