There is a warning about being a generalist. “Jack of all trades, master of none.” “Equipped with knives all over, yet none is sharp,” “Nine trades, the tenth one — hunger.”

Yet, many of the most impactful people have been generalists. Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Richard Feynman...

A modern polymath can be defined as someone who becomes competent in at least three diverse domains and integrates them to create breakthrough ideas in new fields and industries.

For example, Elon Musk has combined an understanding of physics, engineering, programming, des...

Several significant changes trending in our knowledge economy are disrupting conventional wisdom on the value of specialisation.

In today's world, being a polymath is an advantage. People who love learning across fields can become more financially successful and impactful in their careers.

Creating an atypical combination of two or more skills that you’re merely competent in can lead to a world-class skill set.

Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, combined his humour, mediocre illustration skills and interest in business culture to create one of the most popu...

Most creative breakthroughs come from making atypical combinations of skills.

Researcher Brian Uzzi, a professor at the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, found that the most impactful scientific papers often have teams with atypical combinations of backgrounds.

It's never been easier to learn a new, valuable skill.

• The quality of knowledge in every domain is continually improving.
• There is an abundance of free or affordable content from the world's top experts in every medium imaginable.

• One of the main ways that new skill sets, industries, and fields emerge is by combining them with old ones.
• The number of new academic fields and business industries is increasing exponentially.
• As the number of new skills increases, the number of possible combinations increa...

Fifteen years ago, none of the following professions existed:

1. App developer
2. Social media manager
3. Driverless car engineer
4. Cloud computing specialist
5. Big data scientist
6. YouTube content creator

Imagine if you could go back in time and ma...

Many of the biggest problems that face society and individuals can benefit from integrated disciplines.

For example, obesity is complex. Many different fields are needed to solve the problem, such as exercise physiology, genetics, behavioural psychology, sociology, economics, marketing, gen...

You can have a very valuable skill set globally, but if everyone also has that skill set, you're a commodity. However, becoming a polymath can help develop a unique skill set that few others have, making it possible to differentiate yourself.

Peter Thiel ask of candidates he might hire, "Wh...

Being a polymath will be the new normal. Polymaths who combine diverse skills to create innovations and solve complex problems will have an impact while generalists who fail to synthesise their knowledge will have no real impact.

Specialists risk getting tr...

Use mental models to become a modern polymath. Mental models transcend disciplines. They are the links that connect disciplines together.

For example, the 80/20 rule states that in many domains, 20 percent of your efforts will produce 80 percent of your results. You can...