Can a polymath not be a scientist by training? It seems like so many topics today require substantial grounding in quantitative skills that are almost impossible to gain outside grad-school-level studies in science and engineering. Can a polymath whose expertise spans the sciences truly come from elsewhere -- math, economics, philosophy, etc?
In a similar vein, I have yet to read a popular science book written by a non-scientist that comes close to the incandescent prose of the best scientist authors -- all of whom seem to be professional scientists (Dyson, Sagan, Morrison, Wilson, Medawar, etc).
Of course their skill came not only from academics, but from that rare mix of curiosity and rigorous inquiry essential to separate what we know from what we don't, and of course, the passion to push beyond into the unknown.
So can such skills essential to a polymath also arise from outside science?
In a similar vein, I have yet to read a popular science book written by a non-scientist that comes close to the incandescent prose of the best scientist authors -- all of whom seem to be professional scientists (Dyson, Sagan, Morrison, Wilson, Medawar, etc).
Of course their skill came not only from academics, but from that rare mix of curiosity and rigorous inquiry essential to separate what we know from what we don't, and of course, the passion to push beyond into the unknown.
So can such skills essential to a polymath also arise from outside science?