Ever wonder what the word polymathic meant? You might be tempted to say something involves Algebra, Geometry and Calculus, but that’s not the case.
Here’s how Carrie Fitzsimmons of the Cloud Foundation defined it in a 2010 interview.
Polymathic is like Leonardo Da Vinci where you excel in more than one medium or discipline. Our catch phrase is we’re trying to catalyze the next Renaissance generation. We believe we have not seen a more creative time since the Renaissance, and that’s because the Medicis could pay to bring scientists together with mathematicians and artists and poets. It’s that breeding ground where people are crossing disciplines and having conversations that allow them to make associations they wouldn’t otherwise make. And that’s the creative spark we think is needed for innovation.
Carrie and the Cloud Foundation know the power of cross-disciplinary thinking. In 2008 the Foundation launched the Boston 100K ArtScience Innovation Prize. Modeled on the MIT 100K Prize and managed by Harvard Professor David Edwards, the ArtScience Innovation Prize is an interdisciplinary education program that supports young people as they work in teams to develop groundbreaking ideas in art and design around an annual scientific theme. Today the program thrives in more than a dozen sites across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
To learn more check this video: