Dang. Hildegard writes musical plays, records medical discoveries and advises emperors? I'd watch a series about Hildegard.
Also, I feel the core argument of this article. It was really a struggle trying to come up with the language around Unpromptable, because I feel it crosses disciplines even while exploring new ones. It still is. Which is why I'll be giving these exercises a try.
Yep, try the rituals! Even some of them (although they're working better together). You'll find a lot of helpful reframing you can use as part of your new messaging and positioning :)
Nice post. I like the idea of naming concepts that blend meaning, feeling, and lived experience when existing language falls short. Many languages already do this well, and English often doesn’t. Giving people better words can help them think more clearly about what they’re actually experiencing.
Thank you Andrew! I definitely think English often doesn't! E.g. latin languages do a GREAT job at having words that cannot be translated in any other language and I love that!
Love the bucket sorter so much! I am actually leading a 30-day challenge right now where folks are working on their 25-year vision. I just shared this prompt with them as a fun little bonus exercise. It was also very fun for me. Here are my "buckets": Channeling, Building Containers, Moving the body as worship, Being witnessed, Bridging worlds, Tending the garden.
Yay thank you, Phil! I love being able to use AI to help me understand myself better - what a great tool for your vision challenge! My favourite is bridging worlds ❤️
Just had a two hour discussion about this today. Of course I was speaking as a kindergartner 😆. Thank you for giving me the words to explain what I was trying to say today… ❤️
Yesss! Rhonda, I’ve been feeling this way for yeeeears and it wasn’t until Mia sent this over to me that I realised I could reframe who I was entirely 🤯 go forth and conquer as a polymath!
The point about Standard AI acting as a specialist explains why LLMs often struggle with complex system architecture. They write great snippets but miss the big picture.
I’m going to try using the 'Polysemy Networks' concept to help the AI understand the relationships between my frontend and backend better, cuz' right now it struggles a lot.
Oh wow that's an interesting use case! "Full stack web dev" is nice and all but I think you'll get so many extra valuable insights! Let me know how it goes :)
Saved all six rituals for later, these are gold. The Market Mirror especially feels like it'll dig up in my work. This was an excellent read that fulfilled my day, I am now ready to check out and process the narratives. And such a great collaboration, Mia and Rebecca!
The Hildegard mention really landed too, a friend even named her face oil company after her, so seeing her framed as more than a “jack-of-all-trades” felt like a tiny reclamation moment.
Good question and absolutely one that I don't have the answer to haha. But I asked AI and it looks like they're similar but not quite the same:
"The generalist archetype and a polymath are related but not the same. While both involve broad knowledge across multiple fields, they differ significantly in depth and mastery.
A generalist possesses a broad range of interests and skills across multiple domains but typically maintains a more superficial understanding without delving deeply into any particular field. A polymath, in contrast, achieves both breadth and depth—having expert-level knowledge in multiple, often unrelated fields."
Apparently, I'm an excavator that translates and amplifies. And I use my inhabiting engineering, and navigating gems to ++ my effectiveness. What a ride!
My meta-pattern / dominant throughline is “sense-making through attentive observation.”
I repeatedly observe deeply → abstract meaning → refine structure → translate it for clarity or use.
It appears to come from a curiosity-driven need to extract latent meaning from complex inputs (characterized by heightened perception and emotional attunement) as well as the ability to transform chaos into a reliable and repeatable system.
I believe if more people understood themselves on this level, not just polymaths, the world would be a better place.
🥰 I totally agree. For me, that’s the biggest takeaway. Self awareness, reflection and spending more time thinking about how we tick will be critical with this new wave of technology
“Problem: Most people edit themselves way too early. Polymaths do it even more, trimming their wild ideas before they’ve had a chance to breathe.”
great post! and i think this is absolutely true. and so many of our best ideas have been considered wild at the time.
Exactly!! :) thank you for reading Tox 🤗
Dang. Hildegard writes musical plays, records medical discoveries and advises emperors? I'd watch a series about Hildegard.
Also, I feel the core argument of this article. It was really a struggle trying to come up with the language around Unpromptable, because I feel it crosses disciplines even while exploring new ones. It still is. Which is why I'll be giving these exercises a try.
Voting YES for a series on her!!!
Yep, try the rituals! Even some of them (although they're working better together). You'll find a lot of helpful reframing you can use as part of your new messaging and positioning :)
As a writer-slash data scientist-slash software developer, I feel this pain! 😂
Definitely will be giving these exercises a try.
Yay! Let us know how it goes!
Honestly, YES. You are the best example. Software dev + writing is the ultimate power combo haha ❤️
And that's good news :)
Still trying to answer the age-old question…”So, erm, what do you actually do?” 😂
then this post is TOTALLY dedicated to you! 😅❤️
🤗
Nice post. I like the idea of naming concepts that blend meaning, feeling, and lived experience when existing language falls short. Many languages already do this well, and English often doesn’t. Giving people better words can help them think more clearly about what they’re actually experiencing.
Thank you Andrew! I definitely think English often doesn't! E.g. latin languages do a GREAT job at having words that cannot be translated in any other language and I love that!
You know me, Andrew. I’m all about the words 😂 I can imagine you’re a polymath!
Love the bucket sorter so much! I am actually leading a 30-day challenge right now where folks are working on their 25-year vision. I just shared this prompt with them as a fun little bonus exercise. It was also very fun for me. Here are my "buckets": Channeling, Building Containers, Moving the body as worship, Being witnessed, Bridging worlds, Tending the garden.
Awwwww that's soooo cool! Thank you Phil! :) and your containers are full of depth and essence ❤️
I, of course mentioned this legendary publication in the process!
Yay thank you, Phil! I love being able to use AI to help me understand myself better - what a great tool for your vision challenge! My favourite is bridging worlds ❤️
I might end up sharing another one of the six at some point in the process - let's see!
Just had a two hour discussion about this today. Of course I was speaking as a kindergartner 😆. Thank you for giving me the words to explain what I was trying to say today… ❤️
Yesss! Rhonda, I’ve been feeling this way for yeeeears and it wasn’t until Mia sent this over to me that I realised I could reframe who I was entirely 🤯 go forth and conquer as a polymath!
Awww what a good timing! ❤️
And so it is! Polymaths unite! 🎉
This is brilliant, and I'm saving all six rituals.
Also, slightly terrified that I need six rituals to explain what I do, but that's a different problem
😂😂
🤣🤣🤣 that means you're complex enough which in our world is a GOOD thing ❤️
Thank you Neela 🥰
Totally agree! Thank you Neela!
The point about Standard AI acting as a specialist explains why LLMs often struggle with complex system architecture. They write great snippets but miss the big picture.
I’m going to try using the 'Polysemy Networks' concept to help the AI understand the relationships between my frontend and backend better, cuz' right now it struggles a lot.
Oh wow that's an interesting use case! "Full stack web dev" is nice and all but I think you'll get so many extra valuable insights! Let me know how it goes :)
Will definitely do and thanks for the great work!
Thank you! ❤️
Thanks for including my memory!
It was a good one :)
Most people try to compress their work into established categories because that's what's legible. But compression kills the insight.
You end up sounding like everyone else because you're using their vocabulary instead of yours.
So true! This ties so very much with your post today. Which I absolutely loved!!
This is so interesting! Going to save this homework!
Tell us how it goes! Would love to hear what you learn
I will! You gave me new homework to try on! Thank you for your hardwork! :) :) :)
🙏🙏🙏
Saved all six rituals for later, these are gold. The Market Mirror especially feels like it'll dig up in my work. This was an excellent read that fulfilled my day, I am now ready to check out and process the narratives. And such a great collaboration, Mia and Rebecca!
The Hildegard mention really landed too, a friend even named her face oil company after her, so seeing her framed as more than a “jack-of-all-trades” felt like a tiny reclamation moment.
Haha looks like Hildegard is pretty loved! ❤️ Thank you Anna, I hope these rituals help you! 🥰🥰
Mia this post is brilliant.
There you describe my problem like no one has.
I definitely match the generalist archetype, is the polymath something similar?
Good question and absolutely one that I don't have the answer to haha. But I asked AI and it looks like they're similar but not quite the same:
"The generalist archetype and a polymath are related but not the same. While both involve broad knowledge across multiple fields, they differ significantly in depth and mastery.
A generalist possesses a broad range of interests and skills across multiple domains but typically maintains a more superficial understanding without delving deeply into any particular field. A polymath, in contrast, achieves both breadth and depth—having expert-level knowledge in multiple, often unrelated fields."
I’m a generalist :)
I achieved depth at some fields, but certainly not all the ones I like
Apparently, I'm an excavator that translates and amplifies. And I use my inhabiting engineering, and navigating gems to ++ my effectiveness. What a ride!
Well hello Mr Excavator! 🤣 Hope you enjoyed the ride :)
There is something beautifully recursive about using AI to help polymaths escape the limitations of AI training patterns. :)
It is! This piece was such a joy to go through and both Rebecca and I learned so much more about ourselves! ❤️
Thank you for reading Anastasia, and it's good to finally meet the person behind one of my fav newsletters :)
I decided to overcome my shyness :D
The bucket sorter was a fun exercise.
My meta-pattern / dominant throughline is “sense-making through attentive observation.”
I repeatedly observe deeply → abstract meaning → refine structure → translate it for clarity or use.
It appears to come from a curiosity-driven need to extract latent meaning from complex inputs (characterized by heightened perception and emotional attunement) as well as the ability to transform chaos into a reliable and repeatable system.
I believe if more people understood themselves on this level, not just polymaths, the world would be a better place.
🥰 I totally agree. For me, that’s the biggest takeaway. Self awareness, reflection and spending more time thinking about how we tick will be critical with this new wave of technology
What a nice way of saying it, Rachelle! And I absolutely love your result. So useful and insightful, on so many levels! 🥰