Ralph Waldo Emerson saw it even in the 19th century; in his essay The American ScholarEmerson belittled the importance of thinking and expounded on the necessity for Man Thinking.

”Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views, which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon, have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries, when they wrote these books.”
Emerson, The American Scholar (4)

“Hence, instead of Man Thinking, we have the bookworm. Hence, the book- learned class, who value books, as such; not as related to nature and the human constitution, but as making a sort of Third Estate with the world and the soul”
Emerson, The American Scholar (4)

For those unfamiliar, the Third Estate was the lowest level of social status in Pre-Revolution France; showing that Emerson viewed this rote presentation of learning books as making a lower social class between the mundane world and the soul of a person.

Cicero, John Locke, and Francis Bacon, often cited as a few of the greatest writers in history, by him are made out to be just simple young men such as you and I. Young men in libraries attempting. What stands between ourselves and Cicero is simply an attempt because the soul, the constitution of a man, knows the same that Cicero’s knew. Cicero’s knowledge is important but it never can substitute your own; hence the necessity for Man Thinking.

The book -learned class is a familiar one. I don’t think I ever learned about Cicero in my English classes but I was familiar with Shakespear, Beowulf, John Steinbeck, and George Orwell. From time to time we would be asked something that really made me think but I lived with the fear of writing outside of the lines; upsetting my grade by my thoughts, words, or structure.

Artificial Intelligence mimics the work of writers. AI is the bookworm in Emerson’s writing. It observes, It recites, but never offers anything new. It doesn’t Think. There is no conscious thought, no right or wrong aside from what it has been fed.

“When he can read God directly, the hour is too precious to be wasted in other men's transcripts of their readings”
Emerson, The American Scholar (4)

Each human has the capacity to read God directly. Searching for answers and feeling for truth. Emerson related that time spent in books could be wasted. If we feed ourselves the same way we feed artificial intelligence we may as well let the robots write for us. Religious or not, the mind was not meant to be constantly consuming. It requires Thought, even digestion.

What an Essay Ought To Be

Many, including me, have confused the essay with more serious academic works such as research papers. A research papers main goal is to interact with existing theories on a given subject and provide research defending a thesis. Important writing in its own sense but the essay holds its own form which has been diminished to be more research paper than attempt. I follow Henrik Karlsson on Substack and I was listening to a podcast featuring him. He writes essays on topics such as marriage, presence, learning, and a meaningful life. In the podcast he said that many people are too afraid to write on the truly important subjects like kindness, the topics that you feel in your soul. Instead they write on academic subjects to appear smart. This is obviously not true of everyone in academia but I can certainly say that it has been true for me. It described perfectly how I’ve felt about my own writing over the past two years. Too afraid to write on those topics which really matter to me and instead defaulting to technical areas where in the words of my own thoughts, if I did my research well “I could not be wrong.”

Instead of Man Thinking I was book worm.

“Fear always springs from ignorance.”
Emerson, The American Scholar (8)

Acceptance of ignorance is progress. An essay is an attempt; getting it wrong might just be the point.

My worst experience in High School English was when it was more history than English class. In 9th grade we spent 3 months studying the Holocaust for 2 hours each day. I left class depressed. It sucked out my soul going to those classes. We wrote essays on the topic. Nothing new, nothing argumentative; it was simple, the Holocaust was bad. It was the same every day. I’m sure in someway my English teacher was trying to do something great by introducing me to amazing literature written by Holocaust survivors, but at the time all I could see was darkness. I never got the point. I never learned to love English or literature through that experience. I never felt what it feels like to write an essay.

My best experience in high school English came In my senior year. We read Lord of the Flies and we were asked to write an essay arguing for whether humans are inherently good or bad. When left to our own devices with no authority to control us will we choose to bless or kill? I loved it. I spent time thinking about it outside of class. It put light into my life to think about the question and to form my opinions and to write with enthusiasm on why people are good. In this circumstance there was an attempt to be made. There was a question that mattered, that hadn’t been answered already; One that I couldn’t be graded harshly on if I got wrong. I weighted the question in my mind and I wrote an essay.

Moving Forward

Can we teach the love of writing for the purpose of Thinking and not only for academic pursuits? Can we teach style and prose beyond the five paragraph essay and haikus? Can we begin to require an attempt and not just rote recitation? Can we allow for inventive structure? Intellectual institutions, however, may not be the best place for this type of learning to take place.

“Colleges and books only copy the language which the field and the work-yard made.”
Emerson, The American Scholar (7)

The human experience is what literature reflects. The man who has only read, the professor who knows each technical use of grammar, may write something beautiful in structure but until he has lived, experienced, worked, loved, and Thought, he will never write something beautiful in meaning. The essay requires Man Thinking. Anything less and we might ourselves be Artificial Intelligence.

How many times have you set out to accomplish a goal or form a new habit but then failed in consistency? The problem may not be the task but really how deeply you learned the principle. The motivation to build character comes from deeply rooted principles nourished by continuing education.

How Do We Plant and Nourish Principles?

Below is the format that I’ve been using to learn and teach principles. I first learned it while serving as a volunteer for my church. I first implemented it as I was helping people make changes in their lives such as quitting smoking, attending church, and reading scriptures. It was hard for many, but as the true principles they were learning took root, and through the power given to them from Jesus Christ, they were able to make those changes.

In my own studies, as I was seeking to better myself, I found that the principles still applied. My own goal is to form stronger character. To be a reliable man as a father, husband, employee, and whatever other role I find myself striving to fulfill. I am still a long ways away, but these steps for growth keep me steady.

The Format

1. Resource

2. Principle

3. Understand

4. Feel the Truth and Importance

5. Apply

Let’s walk through each.

Resource

Most often there was a question which led you to a resource, whether that was about the gospel of Jesus Christ, physics, language, philosophy, or business. The process applies across all of them. The resource should be meaningful.

Principle

From the resource you must extract at least one principle to ponder. A principle is something that is true according to the text. Often principles can be stated as conditions in the form of if ___ then ___ statements.

Understand

Principles, when first learned, need to be understood. What makes the principle true? Is it always true, or does it depend? This could also look like putting it in your own words. While teaching, find ways to let students use their own words.

Feel the Truth and Importance

Character cannot be built from logical understanding alone. It must be felt. This looks like comparing the principle to the real world. How would this change a group of people? Do we see others suffer from not utilizing this principle? Look inward. How does this principle affect you? How would you benefit if you lived differently?

Apply

This category signifies action. What will you do, or stop doing, in order to bring this principle into your life?

Let’s practice with a quote from Francis Bacon: “Some books are meant to be tasted, others swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.”

Principle: Only read deeply the best books.

Understand: You will be better off if you take your time with the best books.

Feel: I try to just get through books without ever truly digesting them. I’ve started dozens of books and retained almost none of them. There are men I admire who can draw from what they’ve read the way a craftsman draws from his tools. I can’t do that yet because I haven’t earned it through slow reading.

Apply: I will read one chapter slowly before moving on. I will stop counting books and start weighing them.

Result: Three weeks later, reading feels like something I earn, not something I owe. When I come back to my daily reading goal now, I’m more energized and excited. It doesn’t feel like a chore on a list. Because I’ve felt deeply the truth and importance of it, it feels like a privilege.

Teaching and learning in this way has changed my life. It has helped me actually apply knowledge and grow.

Find Consistency

Think for a minute about how you could benefit from this. How often are you learning just to fill the void of silence versus actually feeling, applying, and becoming? When was the last time you really sat with a principle from a book and tried to feel the truth and importance of it? Are you struggling to work out every day or read consistently? Try looking at a resource that illuminates the true principles behind why those things matter. Feel their truth and importance. Let the principle change your paradigm before you try to change your behavior.

The next time you sit down with a resource, go slowly and try this method.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Polymath Defined

You were made for more than you think. Specialization in a certain field is a relatively new form of human existence. For the bulk of human history the smartest people learned across many disciplines. Many people now feel compelled to learn across a variety of fields. I believe that desire is innately within each of us because it was what we were made for. Especially in our day of limitless information, I believe that it is the foundation of existence that we learn as much as we can to become the best versions of ourselves.

Some would call these people Renaissance men. Others would call them unfocused. The more precise terminology would be a “polymath.” The word comes from the Greek polymathēs, literally meaning “having learned much.” It denotes a person who has deep learning across many different fields of study. A polymath has a special capacity to apply aspects of one field to another, such as implementing mathematics into music or psychology into business.

Classic examples are Benjamin Franklin and Leonardo da Vinci. Franklin was a businessman, scientist, author, and inventor. Da Vinci was a painter, engineer, anatomist, and mapmaker. These were not unfocused people. They represent the kind of leadership that is needed even more in this age of experts. The ability to connect and synthesize knowledge in a way that a specialist or an AI cannot is extremely valuable. That kind of broad, detailed thinking is what I am striving for.

The Polymath Project

After being challenged by Stephen R. Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to find and write down my purpose, after thoughtful prayer I wrote down these words: “Become the best version of yourself for the benefit of others.” Driven by that purpose, I am constantly drawn toward increasing my knowledge. This applies to all aspects of my life, but lately it has been especially true in my education. I am an undergraduate at Utah State University studying history, with plans to attend law school. I chose history and law in part because I believed they would give me the most depth across multiple disciplines. I am also driven by a second commitment: to seek every opportunity for education. I am deeply Christian, and I believe God calls us to gain knowledge and to build upon the gifts we were given. This is the main purpose for my writing and podcasting in Built By Books, whether it be the Chinese language or computer coding, astronomy or geology, classical Latin or modern chemistry. Self-learning has never been more accessible. Hopefully, one day I can truly deserve the title of “one who has learned much.”

What Is My Polymath Potential?

Think of the many interests you carry as a person. What makes you distinct? List your passions, the things you want to study, and the fields where you already have some experience. For me, that list looks like this:

∙ Surveying and Mapping

∙ Finance

∙ Business

∙ Law

∙ Music

∙ History and Philosophy

∙ Teaching

∙ Latin

∙ Computer Science

∙ Brain Science

Now organize them into groups where they are most likely to interconnect.

Human Foundations — Law, History and Philosophy, Brain Science

Real World Economics — Finance, Surveying and Mapping

Articulation — Teaching, Latin, Music

Application Outputs — Business, Computer Science

Think of what you could accomplish by synthesizing these passions. For me, I think of the work I could do as a property attorney with a surveying background, or the ways I could become a better teacher by drawing from music and Latin together. The possible combinations are endless. A true polymath could apply lessons from music to brain science and carry that combined insight into business. Arthur Koestler called this process “bisociation,” the creative collision of two unrelated frames of reference that produces something neither could produce alone. Franklin discovered it when electricity met a kite string. Da Vinci found it where anatomy met the painter’s eye.

The process does not have to be complicated. Right now I spend time each day moving between these subjects, some more than others. The key is to practice synthesizing deliberately. Once a week, try a small experiment: write a paragraph about how two of your interests might connect. You don’t need a breakthrough. You just need the habit. My plan is to write short reflective essays defining the things I learn, applying them to my life, and sharing in my podcast and writing project, Built By Books.

Patience in the Process

If you feel you are wasting time in your education, if you feel uncertain or still searching for your footing, experiment. Organize your interests. Search within yourself for purpose. Others may ridicule you, saying that you are wasting your time. You may never make money from learning Chinese or from understanding kinetic energy. Regardless of those criticisms, learning in this style will make you a more curious, energized, disciplined, and courageous person and lead you into the quiet momentum of polymathy.

Remember this:

We were not made for money. We were made for becoming.

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

— Robert A. Heinlein