A polymath has attained mastery in across a wide range of domains. It might appear that in an information age and with higher education available to more people than ever before, this is an ideal that is more achievable than ever before. But as knowledge advances, mastery requires more specialization than ever before, making it harder to make significant contributions to a field without approaching it with single-minded dedication. As AI becomes an ever more prominent part of our lives, will this encourage polymathy or just lead us to outsource our thinking?

Paul Grimstad is Senior Lecturer in the Humanities Program, Yale University.

This event is open to all members of the Yale community. Lunch will be served.