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polymath (
Greek polymathes, p???µa???, "having learned much")
[1] is a person whose knowledge is not restricted to one subject area. The dictionary definition is consistent with informal use, whereby someone very knowledgeable is described as a polymath when the term is used as a noun, or polymath or polymathic when used as adjectives.
The terms Renaissance Man and (less commonly) Homo Universalis (which is Latin for "a universal man" or "man of the world") are related, and used to describe a person who is well educated, or who excels, in a wide variety of subjects or fields.[2] This idea developed in Renaissance Italy from the notion expressed by one of its most accomplished representatives, Leon Battista Alberti (1404–72) that “a man can do all things if he will”. It embodied the basic tenets of Renaissance Humanism, which considered man the centre of the universe, limitless in his capacities for development, and led to the notion that men should try to embrace all knowledge and develop their own capacities as fully as possible. Thus the gifted men of the Renaissance sought to develop skills in all areas of knowledge, in physical development, in social accomplishments, and in the arts.
A different name for the secondary meaning of polymath is Renaissance Man (a term first recorded in written English in the early twentieth century).[3] Other similar terms also in use are Homo universalis and Uomo Universale, which in Latin and Italian, respectively, translate as "universal person" or "universal man". These expressions derived from the ideal in Renaissance Humanism that it was possible to acquire a universal learning[4] in order to develop one's potential, (covering both the arts and the sciences[5] and without necessarily restricting this learning to the academic fields). Further, the scope of learning was much narrower so gaining a command of the known accumulated knowledge was more feasible than today. When someone is called a Renaissance Man today, it is meant that he does not just have broad interests or a superficial knowledge of several fields, but rather that his knowledge is profound, and often that he also has proficiency or accomplishments[6] in (at least some of) these fields, and in some cases even at a level comparable to the proficiency or the accomplishments of an expert.[7] The related term Generalist is used to contrast this general approach to knowledge to that of the specialist. (The expression Renaissance man today commonly implies only intellectual or scholastic proficiency and knowledge and not necessarily the more universal sense of "learning" implied by the Renaissance Humanism). It is to note, however, that some dictionaries use the term Renaissance man as roughly synonymous with polymath in the first meaning, to describe someone versatile with many interests or talents,[8] while others recognize a meaning which is restricted to the Renaissance era and more closely related to the Renaissance ideals.
The term Universal Genius is also used, taking Leonardo da Vinci as a prime example again. The term seems to be used especially when a Renaissance man has made historical or lasting contributions in at least one of the fields in which he was actively involved and when he had a universality of approach. Despite the existence of this term, a polymath may not necessarily be classed as a genius; and certainly a genius may not display the breadth of knowledge to qualify as a polymath. Albert Einstein and Marie Curie are examples of people widely viewed as geniuses, but who are not generally considered to be polymaths.
