3-10: Renaissance Man

One in a Billion

I was sharing an essay that I had recently written with my cousin at a family cookout and afterwards he said that I am quite the Renaissance Man. I didn’t know exactly what to think, though knew it was very well intended. I thought about the term and what it meant in my still relatively short life. I have high standards and tend to think that only highly accomplished champions of their industries and philanthropists could earn such a title.

For a while, I sometimes heard the phrase as not being exceptional at any one field, but being a jack-of-many-trades, which I did not think of as much of a compliment. With time I’ve come to realize that, each time it’s been said, it was a compliment. I now see the phrase as a way of saying they are inspired by my deep passion for many topics.

The power of this approach becomes clear when you consider the math involving the combination of interests. Let’s say there are 1,000 different fields of interest, and if each person chooses three fields they love, that would lead to over 166 million unique combinations of “Renaissance.” If the ordering of the three fields matters, which it probably would as we tend to hold one interest above others, then it works out to just under one billion different combinations. When considering there are many more than 1,000 different fields of interest, and that some people will be uniquely gifted at more than three of them, it’s easy to see how specializing in a handful of areas can make you one-of-a-kind.

As often as I still think I am not yet deserving of the title, what is most important is that I have set my direction and begun my journey to become one. I’d like to think that, over the recent few years, my dedication to any number of interests has made the lives of others a little better.

We are all capable of becoming our own Renaissance Men and Women. It is up to you to uncover and thoughtfully combine the fields through which your talents can shine. If you find yourself only able to think of one or two, consider what learning a new skill or diving into an unfamiliar topic might add to your combination. It is entirely possible that no one else on Earth merges your particular three.

Thank you for reading Logic & Levity!