Forced Polymathy: How Necessity Drives People to Master Multiple Specializations

It fascinates me how much the phenomenon of 'forced polymathy' can reveal about the hidden potential of human beings.?

A quick look at life during the Soviet era and just after the USSR’s collapse illustrates this ‘all stick, no carrot’ polymathy perfectly. One of the key goals of the communist model was to build a stable society, where people would have a stable family, a stable job, and a stable life. Due to the Soviet Union’s planned economy, most peoples’ life paths were clearly defined for them, practically from birth. A famous slogan of those times, “shame on job hoppers”, was intended to isolate and ostracize anyone who didn’t comply with their pre-ordained career path.?

After the fall of the USSR, unbridled capitalism took the country with a vengeance. Surviving in the new economic order required a totally different mindset, and many people were pushed by necessity into careers radically different from those they had pursued all their lives. This usually meant changing one’s vocation, industry, or both. My mother, for instance, who had a degree in engineering, worked for many years as a secretary before becoming a professional hat maker. In addition, a totally new sphere of activity emerged: entrepreneurship. As a result, a whole new range of professions appeared to assist growing new businesses, including accountants, auditors, builders, tutors, interpreters, and system administrators. At the same time, millions of skilled factory workers, teachers, and engineers had to resort to reselling to make ends meet. Thus, it was highly common for people in the 15 former Soviet republics to have three or four different vocations and avocations.

Is a person really a polymath if they are driven to master several very different skills by want and necessity rather than desire and curiosity??The Covid pandemic has given rise to a situation without precedent in world history: people on every continent are facing restrictions and adversity at exactly the same time. How many have lost their jobs, or considered changing the way they make a living? ?Michael Araki and Angela J. Cotellessa said this about forced polymathy:?

“We contend that, in these situations, individuals of the most diverse intellectual profiles will find much benefit in acting in a more polymathic way; that is, they will be in a better position by acquiring and integrating ideas, methods, concepts, principles, techniques, or materials from domains different than those they are used to, and by using them to generate novel and effective solutions. The COVID-19 crisis is a foremost example of an ‘exogenous shock,’ with an extremely adverse, uncertain, and complex nature, which we theorize will demand the development of coping behaviors that are similar to the polymathic behaviors.”?

The lockdowns imposed due to the pandemic drove millions of people to scramble to make ends meet, making COVID-19 a new driver of forced polymathy. While people were previously motivated to change jobs or career paths for higher pay, less stress, or more interesting work, now people are largely motivated by the need to survive in the ‘new normal’.

The British Government’s notorious ‘Rethink, Reskill, Reboot’ campaign suggested that musicians, actors, dancers, and other performers find a new career. Though the ad was quickly taken down due to public outrage, the problem remained – people who had followed their passions into the hyper-specialized realm of the performing arts found themselves in a desperate situation. Many were forced to switch to online teaching, although that requires a very different skill set, and not every performer is a good teacher.

The pandemic also prompted a shift to online work in all situations where it was feasible to do so. This disruption marked a transition to more polymathic job prospects, and career advisers suddenly began to recommend that people diversify their professional interests and skills rather than focus on a one-track career.?

In the Harvard Business Review, Herminia Ibarra, professor of Organizational Behavior at the London Business School, discussed an online poll that she had organized; it asked participants to “describe how they’re responding to the coronavirus crisis”. Some 50% of the 2,000 respondents reported that it had given them “opportunities to try new things or learn new skills.” What’s interesting in terms of polymathy is that the professor recommends that people “develop many possible selves."

In April 2020, India’s newspaper The Economic Times advised:

“Create multiple paths… Instead of a single 10-year plan, create different paths for your future. Consider parallel universes, one where a career risk works out well, another where it fails, an entrepreneurship option, a world where pandemics are constantly recurring, or one where you don’t find employment but can work on a contract basis. Planning does not mean that they will come true, but when you put your pen to paper, you will think clearly, identify your skills, and prepare for it.”?

The newest trend is to make a career change into the world of IT. People are leaving familiar fields where they know everything to pursue new opportunities and prospects, armed with newly acquired knowledge. Most often, these people are adults with families and financial commitments, including mortgages. They carefully consider making this move, study the available opportunities, and move ahead to advance their careers. However, once in the new job market, career switchers are often unable to land their first position for months, or even years. Many become disillusioned and return to their previous occupations. This trend makes one wonder: maybe the problem is not the people’s decision to change jobs, but the career directions they choose??

When considering forced polymathy, a whole array of questions arise:

1) When people are forced to embrace new career challenges by exogenous circumstances, does it mean they always had unlimited career potential but just never fully nurtured it when living comfortably?

2) Does it mean that being compelled to take a polymathic approach to work benefits personal development and forces people to explore their potential, or is the stress involved too high?

3) Perhaps it’s better to avoid radical changes and take a safe position where you can stay on your previously chosen career track??

4) In the end, how is forced polymathy different from natural polymathy?

Discover more about polymathy and its potential in WHY POLYMATHS?