Shout Out to the Modern Renaissance Men and Women

My daughter likes to make up songs.  My son, her younger brother, likes to copy her.  A riff on the popular..."Billionaire" got twisted by her beautiful mind into "I want to be a Genius".  It was both amusing and fascinating for me to witness her wrap her creativity around what she wanted to be when she grows up (she is 10 and managed to incorporate getting a nobel prize into her song).  It seemed to catch my imagination for the better part of today.

I often ask my friends and students and even randomn strangers..."What are you good at?"  This often leads to a discussion not about their professions or career path but rather a hobby they are passionate about.  We all have way more potential than our resume would convey.  This brings up the topic of the genius on more than one level, the polymath.  According to the dictionary, the term orginates from two greek words: poly (much or many) and manthanein (to learn).

Sometimes, those who pursue more than one area of interest are referred to as Renaissance men or women.  This refers to the period of time in European history where diverse interests were encouraged and people were driven to excel across varied fields.  If creativity seeks to contribute to society by aligning new combinations, then we must be able to manifest these new combinations of interests within ourselves over our lifetimes.

Here are a few examples, I share with you and my kids:

Frank Hyman - discusses his close to quarter of century dedication to the polymath path in a recent NYT article simply entitled: "I'm Making a Living From My Hobbies".  The preoccupation with pursuing his avocations has led to personal satisfaction through being a lifestyle entrepreneur.

AskMen.com has their top ten list of modern day, Renaissance men which reads off with such luminaries as
F. Story Musgrave (1.), Murray Gell-Mann (2.), Douglas Hofstadter (3.), Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller (4), Viggo Mortensen (5),  Brian May (6), Eric Lander (7),  Stephen Wolfram (8), James Ephraim Lovelock (9), Noam Chomsky (10.)

It would be nice to be able to have a similar top ten list on Renaissance women but as yet I have not unearthed one. 

There was however. Dr. Perri Klass: mother, doctor, authoress and many blogs, interviews, and even a movement trying to define and align with the meaning of Renaissance as applied to the modern woman.  It will take a bit longer to help my daughter find her inspiration but I will continue to help her find her inner Genius.